Several supplements released for the eighth edition of WFB centred on the so-called End Times which led to the almost total destruction of the Warhammer world and the death of most of the world's population. This leads into the Age of Sigmar, as radically new setting for the radically new ruleset.
Following the destruction of the Warhammer World by the forces of Chaos, Sigmar floated through outer space, clinging to the core of the Old world. He eventually encountered the celestial dragon Dracothion, and they became good friends. Dracothion let Sigmar ride him, and showed him the way to nine new realms, each a representation of a magical "wind" emphasising some element like fire or light or life - as well as the later, unilateral addition of Chaos by the Chaos Gods - which are connected by magical portals called realmgates. Souls were drawn to these realms, some being survivors from the previous world, some new, or were sought out by Sigmar. Sigmar forged an alliance amongst these peoples and their gods (his former acquaintances from the old world) as civilisations were re-established. Following an attack by the Forces of Chaos which captured most of the realms the alliance broke down and the civilisations were almost totally destroyed before Khorne and his forces turned upon the rest of the Chaos armies. Sigmar decided to create the mightiest warriors ever, the Stormcast Eternals. Armed with mighty storm weapons, the Stormcast led the fight back against Chaos. The Age of Sigmar begins many, many generations after this with Sigmar attempting to re-establish the former alliances and purge the world of Chaos once and for all.
As in the lore, there are present souls who survived the End Times and have wandered through space, nearly all races from the WFB game and even individual characters noted as having died in the End Times, are eligible for play.
There are four main factions in Age of Sigmar, called Grand Alliances.
Order Grand Alliance
Order wishes to beat Chaos. It comprises:
Stormcast Eternals, demigod-like warriors imbued with a portion of Sigmar's godly power and clad in magical armour made of sigmarite. This is a completely new faction created for the game, similar to the ever-popular Space Marines of Warhammer 40,000. They were created by Sigmar with the aid of Grungni (the main god of the duardin) to be the ultimate weapon against the forces of Chaos. They are heroic members of the mortal races which Sigmar plucked from the realms before their death in battle, the reason of his choosing can be varied (valour in battle, faith, pure hearted goodness etc...). He then remoulds them completely into mighty warriors, much larger than normal humanoids and immensely powerful. They are immortals in the sense that, when they die, their bodies and souls are instantly transported in a bolt energy back to the celestial realm to be reforged anew.
Extremis Chamber: Certain Stormcast also ride on beasts called Dracoths, comprising the Stormcast Extremis.
Seraphon, previously the Lizardmen. In the current iteration they are described to be Daemons who fight for Order.
Sylvaneth, previously a part of the Wood Elves faction. They are forest spirits.
Duardin, previously the Dwarfs. They are split into four Factions:
Fyreslayers, mercenary Dwarfs who worship Grimnir. They fight for Ur-Gold, a magical element whom they believe to be the remants of their god.
Dispossessed, the remaining Dwarfs who still bear grudges against their enemies and worship Grungni.
Ironweld Arsenal, which focus on the artillery element of the Dwarfs. They are allied with humans.
Kharadron Overlords, a completely new Dwarf faction released in Spring 2016 that consists of nautical-themed ironclad airships and warriors wearing armoured diving suits. Separated a long time ago from the other Dwarfs, the Kharadron Overlords live in sky-cities with quite a different culture to their brethren. They wield cutlass-like swords instead of axes and are armed with many black-powder weapons that the Dispossessed have not yet discovered.
Humans, previously the Empire and Bretonnians. Divided in several factions:
Devoted of Sigmar, remnants of the former Empire. Flagellants, Priests, and Witch Hunters.
Collegiate Arcane, human wizards.
Knights of the Lady, the former knights of Bretonnia. powerful, chivalrous cavalrymen elevated to demigod-status by the Lady of the Lake, their patron, for their heroic actions, just before the destruction of the world-that-was. They often fight side-by-side with the Stormcast Eternals, representing the united cause of Sigmar and the Lady to wipe out Chaos.
Free Peoples, the rest of the human race. Knights and guilds.
The Bretonnians were eradicated by Games Workshop in late 2015, but medieval knights that can be used to represent Knights of the Lady characters and units are available from many historical miniature manufacturers and Games Workshop still have a Warscroll for all Knights of the Lady units.
Nehekharans, formarly the Tomb Kings. Since Nagash returned the cursed people of Nehekhara vowed to have their revenge on him and, swayed by a promise from Sigmar that they will be returned to their living selves once Death and Chaos have been defeated, joined the forces of Order. They consist of two factions:
Sandlords, which represent the mummies and their skeletal servants who were the people of Nehekhara before Nagash's betrayal.
Monolithia, which consist of the war statues created by the Nehekharans to aid them in their war against Nagash's undead, including Warsphinxes, Necrosphinxes, Colossi and Ushabti.
Games Workshop removed the entire Tomb Kings range in late 2015, and as such the Sandlords and Monolithia are unofficial factions, but former Tomb Kings players may wish to start creating unofficial warscrolls for Sandlord and Monolithia miniatures they have to use them in their games, or can still use their miniatures using the warscrolls supplied by Games Workshop on the Warhammer Age of Sigmar Rules page of their website.
Aelfs, previously the Elves. They are split into three main groups:
Highborn, previously the High Elves
The Eldritch Council: Wizards, Swordmasters of Hoeth, Loremasters, Wizard on Dragon.
Phoenix Temple: Phoenixes and the Phoenix Guard.
Lion Rangers: White Lions of Chrace, Lion Chariots.
Swifthawk Agents: Skycutters, Chariots, and Shadow Warriors.
Order Draconis: Dragon Princes, which are now called Dragon Blades, plus the Prince on Dragon.
Exiles, previously the Dark Elves.
Scourge Privateers: Kharybdiss, Scourgerunner Chariot, Corsairs, and the Fleetmaster.
Daughters of Khaine: Witch Elves, Doomfire Warlocks, and the Cauldron of Blood and Bloodwrack Shrine.
Darkling Covens: Black Guard, Dreadspears, Darkshards, Bleakswords, and both the Sorceress on foot and the Sorceress on Dragon.
Shadowblades: Dark Elf Assassins and Dark Riders.
Order Serpentis: Cold One (now called Drakespawn) Riders and Chariots, the Dreadlord on Dragon, and the War Hydra.
Wanderers, previously the elven portion of the Wood Elves.
Glade guard, The core army of the wanderers.
Sisters of Avelorn, Like the glade guard but more elite.
Eternal Guard, The elite foot soldiers of the wanderers.
Wildwood Rangers, Like the Eternal Guard, but they guard wildwoods instead.
Wild Riders, The cavalry of the wood elves.
Sisters of the Thorn, A sub version of the wild riders.
Nomad Princes, The leaders of the wanderers.
Spellweavers, the mages of the wanderers.
Waywatcher, captain of the glade guard.
Wayfinder, the tracker of the wanderers.
Chaos Grand Alliance
Fueled by the base desires and actions of mortals (wrath, decay, intrigue, and lust), they seek to bring every realm to heel. They serve the Four Chaos Gods. Before the Age of Sigmar they had conquered 7 of the 8 Mortal Realms and began the Age of Chaos, before Sigmar struck back with the Stormcast. It comprises:
Everchosen, the followers of Archaon the Everchosen of Chaos.
Slaves to Darkness, formerly the Warriors of Chaos faction.
Khorne Bloodbound, humans devoted to the service of Khorne.
Daemons of Khorne, formerly Chaos Daemons which were the creations of Khorne.
Tzeentch Arcanites, humans devoted to the service of Tzeentch.
Daemons of Tzeentch, formerly Chaos Daemons which were the creations of Tzeentch.
Nurgle Rotbringers, humans devoted to the service of Nurgle.
Daemons of Nurgle, formerly Chaos Daemons which were the creations of Nurgle.
Hosts of Slaanesh, humans and Daemons devoted to the service of Slaanesh.
Daemons of Chaos, formerly Chaos Daemons.
Beastmen, now divided into:
Brayherds
Warherds
Legion of Azgorh (Chaos Dwarfs)
Tamurkhan`s Horde (Forgeworld's Nurgle Faction)
Monsters of Chaos, large beasts created from the Realm of Chaos.
Chaos Gargants, formerly Chaos Giants.
Thunderscorn, formerly the Dragon Ogres.
Skaven, now formally part of the realm of Chaos as the Great Horned Rat ascended to the pantheon of the Chaos Gods. They consist of:
Masterclan, formerly the leaders of the Skaven armies.
The Clans Skryre, Skaven which dabble in bizarre sorcery and science.
The Clans Moulder, Skaven which breed grotesque war beasts.
The Clans Pestilens, Skaven which now worship the Chaos god Nurgle.
The Clans Eshin, Skaven which are stealthy assassins.
The Clans Verminus, Skaven warriors.
Death Grand Alliance
Opposed to Chaos, more or less allied with Order when uniting in common cause against Chaos, but wishing to rule all the realms for themselves. Ruled by the self-proclaimed god of death, Nagash. They consist of:
Deathlords, formerly a portion of Vampire Counts. These were the leading aristocracy of the Vampire Counts, consisting of Nagash's command, the Mortarchs, the Morghasts, and the Vampire Lords.
Soulblight, formerly a portion of Vampire Counts. They consist of the vampires.
Deathmages, formerly a portion of Vampire Counts. They consist of necromancers.
Deadwalkers, formerly a portion of Vampire Counts. They consist of zombies.
Deathrattle, formerly a portion of Tomb Kings. They consist of skeletons.
Flesh-Eater Courts, formerly a portion of Vampire Counts. They consist of crypt ghouls, vampires which devolved into flesh eating monstrosities.
Nighthaunt, formerly a portion of Vampire Counts. They consist of ghosts, spirits, and wraiths.
Destruction Grand Alliance
Unpredictable and opportunistic, they fight for their own self interests or often for the sake of conflict. They consist of:
Orruks and Grots, formerly the Orcs and Goblins. They have several Factions, including:
Ironjawz, formerly the Black Orcs, heavily armored Orruks. Grouped in various clans:
Ardboys
Brutes
Gore-gruntas
Megabosses
Weirdnob Shamans
Warchanters
Maw-krushas
Greenskinz, formerly a portion of Orcs and Goblins, the typical Orruks that populated the majority of the Orruk race.
Bonesplitterz, formerly the Savage Orcs, Orruks which are more primitive and use bone weaponry and shamanism.
Grots, formerly the Goblins. They consist of:
Moonclan Grots, Goblins which were in the Moon Clan.
Spiderfang Grots, Goblins who rode Spiders.
Gitmob Grots, the rest of the Goblins.
Aleguzzler Gargants, giants who do not serve Chaos.
Gutbusters, formerly the Ogre Kingdoms. They have three Factions, including:
Beastclaw Raiders, Ogors who ride on massive Thundertusks.
Firebellies, fire breathing Ogors.
Maneaters.
Troggoth, formerly the Trolls from the Orcs and Goblins faction.
Age of Sigmar emphasises the narrative part of the wargaming experience. It encourages you to play scenarios and recreate battles from the existing books or to make your own stories.
The ruleset is designed to make the game easy to learn but hard to master. It is very quick to read the basic rules common to everyone, while more specific mechanics are contained in "Warscrolls". Each unit in Age of Sigmar has a Warscroll: a pamphlet detailing its rules and stats, giving you everything you need to play your unit on the battlefield. The art of the game lies in understanding how your units work together, and exploiting synergies to use them as a cohesive army.
The rules and Warscrolls are free, and can be downloaded from the Games Workshop website or viewed in the Age of Sigmar app.
Where Warhammer Fantasy Battle included points totals for different units and opponents agreed on the number of points to be fielded by each army, Age of Sigmar has several different modes of play. This includes Matched Play which, just like Warhammer Fantasy Battle, includes points total for different units and opponents can agree on the number of points to be fielded. In this mode of play, there are Army Composition rules that change depending on the point level being played, and the base rules are modified to allow for balanced play (Three Rules of One). All of the information and points cost to play Matched Games is contained in the General's Handbook. Also contained in this book are Campaign modes and Narrative modes. And of course the original mode of play has no points, but is mostly based on model/wound count which lent itself to only elite units being any good.
Bonuses for player behaviour and appearance
The rules compendia have included rules (one for each "old" army, with a few exceptions) that are regarded as absurd and could be considered tongue-in-cheek humor.
For example:
If, during your entire hero phase, you can maintain a dignified (even arrogant) composure and not smile, smirk or laugh regardless of your opponent's antics, you may re-roll all hit rolls of 1 made for models in a Dragon Host until your next hero phase. (Dragon Host, High Elves, page 28)
and
You can re-roll any failed hit rolls when attacking with the Runefang so long as you have a bigger and more impressive moustache than your opponent. (Kurt Helborg, The Empire, page 4)
Other rules offer bonuses for toasting to the mythical figure "the Lady", pretending to ride a horse, dancing while rolling dice, and other unusual criteria.
It has been stated, however, that the silly rules for the Warhammer Fantasy Battles armies were intended as a sort of tongue-in-cheek sendoff to the Old World, as well as an incentive to get people to take a look at the newer armies they would be releasing, as it would be somewhat embarrassing to play with these rules in public.
