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[[File:Warhammer-The Old World logo.jpg|500px|centre]] | [[File:Warhammer-The Old World logo.jpg|500px|centre]] | ||
[[File:Settra Rules.jpg|right|thumb|350px|The image that kept grogs hoping for years that their beloved [[Warhammer Fantasy|Warhammer]] would return.......]] | [[File:Settra Rules.jpg|right|thumb|350px|The image that kept grogs hoping for years that their beloved [[Warhammer Fantasy|Warhammer]] would return.......]] | ||
{{Topquote|Only after disaster can we be resurrected|Tyler Durden}} | {{Topquote|[[The End Times|Only after disaster]] can we be resurrected|Tyler Durden - Fight Club}} | ||
{{Topquote|Soon|/tg/'s reclusive soon poster}} | {{Topquote|Soon|/tg/'s reclusive soon poster}} | ||
Warhammer: The Old World is a | '''Warhammer: The Old World''' is a tabletop wargame and spiritual successor to [[Warhammer Fantasy]], that [[GW]] is in the current process of creating. | ||
The game is confirmed to be a 28mm scale rank and file game, with things taken from almost every edition of Warhammer fantasy (3rd-8th, as 1st and 2nd are these RPG/wargame hybrids), essentially meaning the game is almost certainly going to be Warhammer Fantasy 9th edition with a fancy name. It's unknown what really brought around the decision to make the game, whether it was the general hatred and disdain that Age of Sigmar has never been able to shrug off, [[Total War: Warhammer]] and [[Vermintide]] doing so well, or GW realising there was an entire audience of wargamers that weren't being tapped or for some other reason known only to god, it looks like the sun will rise upon Warhammer Fantasy once again. The biggest hope for many a remaining Fantasy fans is that The Old World revives and updates factions squatted during the [[End Times]] and [[Age of Sigmar]], like the [[Tomb Kings]], [[Bretonnia]] and [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dwarfs]], with a few squatted factions being hinted or out right shown off as of writing. | |||
While initially marketed as "The [[Horus Heresy]] for [[Age of Sigmar]]", it seems the more accurate statement would be "The Horus Heresy for Warhammer Fantasy", as the game is set during the Age of the Three Emperors which was the time period when a most of the events and conflicts that would shape almost every race in Warhammer Fantasy occurred, similar to what the Heresy did for the [[Imperium of Man|Imperium]]. This is coming at a time when the Horus Heresy series as a whole is beginning to wrap up with its final act in the Siege of Terra, which will begin to free up a significant portion of Black Library and GW staff to move on to the next big project. | |||
New Models were also confirmed to be on the way. | |||
==The Setting== | |||
The game will be set during the closing decades of the Age of the Three Emperors (which everyone and their grandmother had figured out by the time they announced it but oh well), and going into the details of the world during this time and with [[Asavar Kul]]s invasion seemingly being the new "Clock strikes midnight" moment. The setting will show the Empire at it's lowest point with multiple generations of Elector counts having fought over who gets the [[Ghal-Maraz|Hammer]], Bretonnia in the midst of some of the most brutal wars they have ever fought against the Orcs, the continuation of the Karaz Ankor's decline and Kislev at it's highest point, just before they are torn down. And because of the time period we can also hopefully expect to have more material on figures who before where merely background fluff or mentioned in passing like Louen Orc-Slayer, and we should see the rise of some of Warhammer biggest names like [[Thorgrim Grudgebearer|Thorgrims]] and [[Ungrim Ironfist|Ungrims]] rise to prominence as Dwarf lords and [[Teclis]] globe trotting adventures. Oh and Cathay will be there, doing... "things" probably. | |||
Basically everything will be falling apart, once strong empires are on the road to their downfall, political and religious strife is running as rampant as the [[Beastmen|local]] [[Orcs and Goblins|pests]], the dead are getting restless and a looming Chaos invasion threatens to bring destruction and ruin to all things. The more things change... | |||
With the game having a more defined setting it means we will be unlikely to see some of the old classic Warhammer Fantasy Character (like Karl Franz, Archaon, and Grimgor), though quite a few of the characters were alive and active during this time as most of the Dwarf, Elf, Lizardmen and undead characters were pootling around during this time, though the shorter lived races will all have new or historical goobers taking the place of some of their pre established characters. Though they could still get rules through a Legacies or Legends PDF (or TOW could be similar enough to 8th edition that the old WHFB army books would still be compatible with the game, so you can just use the character rules from that). | |||
===The Factions=== | |||
* [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|The Empire of Man]] | |||
* [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dwarfen Mountain Holds]] | |||
* [[High Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|High Elf Realms]] | |||
* Kingdom of [[Bretonnia]] | |||
* [[Wood Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Wood Elf Realms]] | |||
* [[Beastmen]] Brayherds | |||
* [[Orcs & Goblins|Orc & Goblin Tribes]] | |||
* [[Tomb Kings]] of Khemri | |||
* [[Warriors of Chaos]] | |||
That said, everyone knows that there were far more than just these factions, but GW's excuse was merely focusing on the main forces involved in the Great War (in which case, is Kislev being booked as a subfaction for the Empire?) (at least for now in part 1 of the Great War, likely focused pre-war events like the rear end of the age of three emperors, [[Morghur]]'s big resurrection party, Asavar Kul mustering forces and the [[war of sand and snow]]). As such, they promised free PDF army lists like [[Horus Heresy]] had done with the Imperialis Militia. | |||
*[[Chaos Dwarfs]] - GW are cheapasses who won't make modern-day iterations of this neglected army. Count your blessings if the old FW stuff enters MtO. | |||
*[[Daemons of Chaos]] - Which is odd since wouldn't they be better served as an allied faction for the WoC? | |||
*[[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dark Elves]] - Presumably, since they weren't involved with the major struggle framing this setting as they were mostly busy with their own invasion of Ulthuan. | |||
*[[Grand Cathay]] - Seemingly shelved until post-release or something. Sounds bad but remember that, unlike all the other factions who have old models that can be brought back, these guys need to be made from scratch. | |||
*[[Lizardmen]] - Who are presumably too busy arguing over which Plaques are canon to bother with the Warmbloods | |||
*[[Ogre Kingdoms]] - [[Greasus Goldtooth|Greasus]] wasn't born yet at that point, which means they are even more isolated and primitive. | |||
*[[Skaven]] - Still in hiding after [[Mandred Skavenslayer]] beat them back into the sewers. | |||
*[[Vampire Counts]] - Currrently powerless after the end of [[Vampire Wars]]. | |||
==Updates and Reveals== | |||
The Road to the Old World actually releasing has/is/will be a long and painful one, with small tid-bits thrown out every few months when GW remembers it in between the Space Marine releases. During the time after it's announcement many theories of what The Old World would actually be were thrown about, ranging from a full re-release of Warhammer Fantasy to a new version of [[Warmaster]] all being thrown about. And while GW has addressed these ideas (after months of silence), many rumours and ideas where swirling around about what would actually happen for The Old World with each new update bring interest, and plenty of... [[Skub|"discussions."]] | |||
===Suddenly [[Kislev]]=== | ===Suddenly [[Kislev]]=== | ||
[[File: | [[File:TOW Kislev.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The realm of the Ice Queen, returns.]] | ||
Insert 'Then the Winged Hussars arrived' meme here. | Insert 'Then the Winged Hussars arrived' meme here. | ||
In a move people hoped for but didn't really expect, GW announced that Kislev would be getting an army again, with updates to units like winged lancers and Ungol horse archers to be expected, as well as new units. One of these new units, or perhaps a hero choice, are the Ice Guard, presumably a wing of Kislev's [[Ice Witch]]es. | In a move people hoped for but didn't really expect, GW announced that Kislev would be getting an army again, with updates to units like winged lancers and Ungol horse archers to be expected, as well as new units. One of these new units, or perhaps a hero choice, are the Ice Guard, presumably a wing of Kislev's [[Ice Witch]]es. | ||
This has been a [[Skub|slightly controversial]] announcement as the units' early concept art doesn't quite match the expectations of Warhammer Fantasy's generally-grounded art style (at least compared to [[Age of Sigmar|other games]]). Plus the idea of magically-enchanted weapons being used by entire units (albeit for an elite guard) is a bit of a weird thing to see outside of the [[High Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|three]] [[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Elven]] [[Wood Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|factions]] or [[Bretonnia|grail knights]], although the degenerate [[Ogre Kingdoms|yhetees]] set somewhat of a precedent for magic ice-weapons in particular. Oh, and [[/pol/|/pol/tards]] and [[SJW|tumblrite snowflakes]] started arguing because they were [[-4 Str|women]] (ignoring the fact every magic user in Kislev is one) but that was to be expected and doesn't factor in because neither of them are going to buy models anyway. Time will tell how this unit is properly received when the models actually come out. | This has been a [[Skub|slightly controversial]] announcement as the units' early concept art doesn't quite match the expectations of Warhammer Fantasy's generally-grounded art style (at least compared to [[Age of Sigmar|other games]]). Plus the idea of magically-enchanted weapons being used by entire units (albeit for an elite guard) is a bit of a weird thing to see outside of the [[High Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|three]] [[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Elven]] [[Wood Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|factions]] or [[Bretonnia|grail knights]], although the degenerate [[Ogre Kingdoms|yhetees]] set somewhat of a precedent for magic ice-weapons in particular. Oh, and [[/pol/|/pol/tards]] and [[SJW|tumblrite snowflakes]] started arguing because they were [[-4 Str|women]] (ignoring the fact every magic user in Kislev is one) but that was to be expected and doesn't factor in because neither of them are going to buy models anyway. Time will tell how this unit is properly received when the models actually come out. | ||
The announcement also plays nicely into the idea that the Old World will be seeing the Age of Three Emperors and the Great War against [[Chaos]] as it's starting point, due to Kislevs involvement in fighting Chaos and the effect the period had on the countries history. Not to mention the technological stagnation of Kislev means that wherever in the timeline future parts of | The announcement also plays nicely into the idea that the Old World will be seeing the Age of Three Emperors and the Great War against [[Chaos]] as it's starting point, due to Kislevs involvement in fighting Chaos and the effect the period had on the countries history. Not to mention the technological stagnation of Kislev means that wherever in the timeline future parts of TOW take place in, Kislev will remain relevant if the Empire is involved. | ||
With a second showcase of concept art revealing bear cavalry (with the direct implication that bears will also be character mount options), Kislev may in fact be one of the starter factions. While it's very early to be speculating about starter boxes, a starter set with Kislev fighting the Warriors of Chaos would be a really nice box to see. | With a second showcase of concept art revealing bear cavalry (with the direct implication that bears will also be character mount options), Kislev may in fact be one of the starter factions. While it's very early to be speculating about starter boxes, a starter set with Kislev fighting the Warriors of Chaos would be a really nice box to see. | ||
'''Update''': On the 3rd of February, 2021 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAr7yUlM0Po/ Total War Warhammer 3 was announced with Kislev being one of the starting races]. In it we see both the new Ice Guard and Bear Cav, and a [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/02/03/watch-kislev-battle-a-bloodthirster-in-the-first-trailer-for-total-war-warhammer-iii/ post on the Warhammer community] confirmed that Creative Assembly had been working with GW and using the concept art of both these units for the game. This had been theorised before the trailers release, but | '''Update 1''': On the 3rd of February, 2021 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAr7yUlM0Po/ Total War Warhammer 3 was announced with Kislev being one of the starting races]. In it we see both the new Ice Guard and Bear Cav, and a [https://www.warhammer-community.com/2021/02/03/watch-kislev-battle-a-bloodthirster-in-the-first-trailer-for-total-war-warhammer-iii/ post on the Warhammer community] confirmed that Creative Assembly had been working with GW and using the concept art of both these units for the game. This had been theorised before the trailers release, but the confirmation now means that Total Warhammer 3 will act as a sort of marketing device for TOW, and that units we see in game will most likely be introduced to TOW as well. [[Cathay]] was also confirmed for the game meaning that it may also be introduced to ToW as an army as well, which would be a very interesting turn of events. Also the Ice Guard look a lot better than they did in the Concept art so yay, the models will likely look better as well. | ||
'''Update 2''': As of the 13th of May, a poor-resolution map of Kislev's borders in TOW has been unveiled. The capital's heraldry bears (hue) the name "Romanoff", which may refer either to Alexis Romanoff who was the Tzar of Kislev during the Great War against Chaos, or his predecessor, likely a grandfather or great grandfather with newer information available. In addition the Kislevite borders now stretch all the way across Zorn Uzkul to the edge of the "Nation of the Hobgobla-Khans", indicating that the older fluff of the Kislevite colonies are being reintroduced in some way. This is also impressive as it makes Kislev much larger than its previous record, when the Wheatlands were canon in older editions. The safe bet is that when the TOW storyline comes up to the Great War Against Chaos, the colonial oblasts will burn first. | |||
===Suddenly [[Bretonnia]]=== | ===Suddenly [[Bretonnia]]=== | ||
[[File:New Bretonnia.jpg|thumb|right|400px|I'M BAAAAACKKK!!! I'M BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!!!]] | |||
In the final days of 2020 and after half a year of absolute silence on Old World, GW dropped a surprise blog filling in the world map with a freshly un-squatted Bretonnia. All 14 dukedoms are represented, albeit with new dukes and heraldry befitting the time period, which we can now safely say is somewhere in the 23rd century (Imperial Calendar) thanks to the notable inclusion of King Louen Orc-Slayer. The perfidious [[Orcs & Goblins|Greenskins]] and aloof [[Wood Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Wood Elves]] get name-dropped, and the maritime [[High Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|High Elves]] have a string of new enclaves along the Bretonnian coastline (including one built on top of an old WFRP location), all pointing towards early inclusion of these non-human races. | In the final days of 2020 and after half a year of absolute silence on Old World, GW dropped a surprise blog filling in the world map with a freshly un-squatted Bretonnia. All 14 dukedoms are represented, albeit with new dukes and heraldry befitting the time period, which we can now safely say is somewhere in the 23rd century (Imperial Calendar) thanks to the notable inclusion of King Louen Orc-Slayer. The perfidious [[Orcs & Goblins|Greenskins]] and aloof [[Wood Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Wood Elves]] get name-dropped, and the maritime [[High Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|High Elves]] have a string of new enclaves along the Bretonnian coastline (including one built on top of an old WFRP location), all pointing towards early inclusion of these non-human races. | ||
===Suddenly... [[Hobgoblin#Warhammer_Fantasy|Hobgoblins?]]=== | |||
The July 2021 update was a harbinger of good news: 28mm square bases are in (meaning you can use your old WHFB armies!), AoS-style naming schemes are out ("Da boyz woz called Orcs in da Old World, so datz what dey’z called!"), the rules system will be based on the cream of the crop of WHFB's 3rd through 8th editions, and the timeline window stretches from the late Age of Three Emperors into the Great War Against Chaos. Kislev is once again talked about, but the focus this time seems to be on mentioning their enemies on the eastern steppes - hobgoblins, hobhounds, centaurs, and half-orcs - all races which were present in Oldhammer days but have long since been lost to time. The blog muses that some of these beasts are mere rumour, but on the other hand there's a [[Kruleboyz Orruks|suspicious air of similarity]] with [[Kragnos|the recent releases]] GW has been putting out. | |||
===Suddenly, the Border Princes=== | |||
In a completely unexpected move, GW's October blog focuses entirely on the Border Princes region of the Old World. While still not an army in their own right (they were explicitly fluffed to be a [[Your Dudes]] sandbox region to begin with) the map has been updated with a number of significant principalities during TOW's chronological place in the timeline, including a crest bearing the familiar name of [[Walach Harkon|Harkon]]. Several relatively obscure landmarks and places have been added to the map as well, and the fact that some of the new faction crests are Tilean and Estalian suggests that the other two southern realms will get their own lore blog posts in time, if nothing else. | |||
===Not that suddenly, [[Cathay]]=== | |||
[[File:Cathay Map-TOW.jpg|thumb|right|400px|At last, Cathay army book is coming.]] | |||
February 2022 blog finally confirms a theory that was hypothesized by many - Cathay will become a fully playable faction in the Old World. There are still little info aside from what we already know, but at least GW provided us with a really detailed map of Northwestern Cathay, which, once again, shows some Hobgoblins, but also adds several obscure Chaos tribes to the north of Great Bastion, such as Kuj. | |||
===Eventually, [[Tomb Kings]]=== | |||
After 8 months of nothing, the Warhammer Community site finally decided to throw people a bone and show off [[Rage|another map]]... and some new art for the rule books. This art shows off a Bretonnian Knight and peasant Archer, an Orc Boar boy and a Tomb Kings Chariot, suggesting that the [[Awesome|Tomb Kings will be receiving an actual update and re-launch at some point]]. The art is also suitably gritty and is appears to have been inspired by some of [[Karl Kopinski]]s work which is a nice touch. The map shows off pretty much everything that has already been shown but has the addition of [[Orcs & Goblins]] tribes as well as some [[Dwarf (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dwarf]] iconographies, so it looks like they'll be getting rules and new models for the game at some point too. | |||
*Update: On February 6th 2023, more information was released about the Tomb Kings. The game will, at least initially, focus on the [[Old World]] continent over the [[Southlands]] and [[Nehekhara]] (and probably [[Lustria]] [[Ulthuan]] and [[Naggaroth]] as well), though they did state that there will be a chance to go and further explore these locations later on. Because of this Eurocentrism, the main way the Tomb Kings are going to be seen will be their invasions into parts of the Old World to re-establish parts of their former empire, which will hopefully be an interesting examination of their character, especially in comparison to their more defensive "get of my lawn" attitude they took up later on in [[Warhammer Fantasy]]. A quick word was also had about the Tomb Kings playstyle and the balancing act of making Skeletons fun to play and play against. We did get another map, which showed nothing new, just the key Tomb King cities, and some more artwork showing off Skeleton Warriors and a Sepulchral Stalker. | |||
===And later, the [[Empire]]=== | |||
In January 2023, GW showed off some Empire art and a couple of maps. More importantly, they've shed a bit of light on the situation the Empire is in. Now during this time, the Empire was an empire in name alone, and its shit was getting kicked in by just about everyone, ''especially'' itself due to the unremitting civil war that followed the death of Mandred Skavenslayer. By the time that The Old World is set, four major provinces of the Empire have all laid claims to the imperial throne: | |||
*'''The Barony of Westerland''', ruled by Baroness Elspeth Magritta VI. Its capital is [[Marienburg]]. | |||
*'''The Osterland''', ruled by Count Sigismund Ulric. Its capital is [[Middenheim]]. | |||
*'''The Principality of [[Reikland]]''', ruled by Prince Wilheim I. Its capital is [[Altdorf]]. | |||
*'''The Grand Duchy of Talabec''', ruled by Duke Ludwig XII. Its capital is [[Talabheim]]. | |||
As an interesting note, the heraldry of Osterland, Reikland, and Talabec all correspond to three different deities ([[Ulric]], [[Sigmar]] and [[Taal]] respectively). While this is not surprising since the capitals of these factions are located in some of the most religiously zealous parts of the Empire, it does suggest that over time the religious divisions in the Empire grew much wider during this time. And while these four are going at each others' throats, the Beastmen are fucking up the forests, the Orcs and Goblins are pillaging anything in reach, and the Tomb Kings are plotting to reclaim their old lands. And of course, there's [[Asavar Kul]] preparing to make his big push towards Kislev. We already know that the Empire will end up rallying around [[Magnus the Pious]], but needless to say the path the Empire looks like it'll take to get there will be quite a bumpy one indeed. While they didn't say anything explicitly, it might be possible that the Empire's army book might be split between the claimants. | |||
===Finally Model Renders=== | |||
[[File:Bretonnia model renders-TOW.jpg|thumb|right|400px|After 20 years, Bretonnia will ride again.]] | |||
During mid-March 2023, GW Finally, after literal years of ball tickling, revealed some incomplete model renders... The renders were both for Bretonnia and the Tomb Kings and showed off weapons for both armies as well as a few extras such as some Bretonnian Knight helmets. The over all response to the model renders was positive, with the models looking like pretty good updates to the old 6th ed models (from the snap shot's we've seen so far at least, we're still missing images most of the models at this point). One criticism, for the Bretonnian models at least is the look a bit chunky and a seem to lean a bit more into the bad TV historical drama design than the historical design, with their being a bit less of a direct reference to historical knight helmets than before. Hopefully the chunkiness of the models is just from the model renders. | |||
*Update: It was later revealed that old models from Warhammer Fantasy would be going back into production, with the entire article showing off newly painted Bretonnian models (the old ones from 20 years ago), in a new era actuate scheme. The model kits shown off were the old knight of the realm (presented in a Lance formation), the Bretonnian peasants, the trebuchet and some hippogryphs. The reasons for this are probably down to a mix of most of the old models still looking good, [[Grognard|people liking the old models]] and want to get them without buying from some Ebay scalper and GW being lazy. These old models are going to be re-released alongside new models so Bretonnia is getting less of a full redo, a more of an update that it would have gotten if Warhammer Fantasy had survived into a 9th edition. In addition to this the article also aludes to some special rules for specific armies for Bretonnia with an Exile Knight and a Crusade army being in the works.<br> | |||
Finally the article confirmed that TOW will be using a larger base size than Warhammer Fantasy with most base sizes being increased to some degree (e.g. 20x20mm bases being upped to 25x25mm). This was met to both cries of [[Skub|"Finally" and "For fuck sake"]]. The base increase is due to the fact that a lot of models released since 7th have had difficulty ranking up with their current base sizes, and GW seems reluctant to make the models less "dynamic" or smaller. And while it may seem like everyone will have to rebase their models, it was also stated that having models on smaller bases should only be a problem for tournaments and the smaller based models from your old Fantasy army will be fine for playing at the FLGS (you can also put the models on bigger movement trays and avoid both problems at the same time). | |||
===Tomb Kings vs Bretonnia=== | |||
[[file:Tomb_King_Model-TOW.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The return of the King(s).]] | |||
During Warhammer Fest in April, new resin models for the Tomb King and Bretonnian Paladin were announced, confirming the two squatted factions from fantasy will be the first to return to the table top. Both factions will gain new models and returning ones, with both new plastic and resin models (which was not surprising since TOW is a Forge World game). The first major story will revolve around Bretonnia fighting back a Tomb King invasion, with subsequent updates revolving initially around the factions in and around The Old World, so expect the Empire, Chaos and Orcs & Goblins to be the first to receive army books and models. So if you play a faction not too involved in the Old World in this time like Lizardmen, High Elves, or Chaos Dwarfs, sorry but you'll have to be patient. Artwork was also shown off with most of if being inspired by the 6th-7th style art found in the Armybooks. | |||
During the after stream Q&A some very important things have been discussed and explained. | |||
*There won't be a starter set for TOW, however there may still be a boxed set with 2 armies (the difference being a starter set has a rule book and other stuff to get started in the age, and boxed sets are just two armies sold in one box), and there will most likely be Army/Battalion boxes so people can get started on new armies or as entry points for new players. | |||
**The game will be a bit harder for new players to get into, but not impossible and the main target audience is Warhammer Fantasy players. | |||
*The game will be compatible with 8th edition Warhammer Fantasy armies and armies that don't get army books straight away will get PDF's after the games launch. | |||
*The updated base sizes will be announced before the game releases. | |||
**Further to this, when asked what the best way to prepare for TOW was, the answer was "paint you models". | |||
*Stuff like Chaos Dwarfs, Skaven and Lizardmen will have rules, but will not be getting new stuff until much later on. | |||
*Kislev will not be getting models imminently, but will probably be getting them sooner rather than later, and Cathay will be a while after launch. | |||
*Models will be Plastic (new and old), FW Resin and Metal (because not even GW can sell you the finecast versions with a straight face anymore). | |||
*Stuff like AoS specific armies and models like Stormcast, Idoneth deepkin and the new Cities of Sigmar models are not made to be compatible with TOW, and are not getting any rules for TOW, and this will also work vice versa with Old World specific armies and models like Bretonnia, not being designed to be used in AoS. | |||
**This is probably for the best as the 2 player groups still don't like each other and have not much except animosity for the other games models (despite some people trying to get them to hold hands singing "Kumbaya"), though converting TOW models for AoS will be much easier than converting AoS models for TOW. | |||
===Core Armies and Legacy Armies=== | |||
In May 2023, this was further expanded on with some additional information that certain armies are considered core factions (read; getting army books and support) and non-core/legacy factions ([[Fail|read; getting PDF's and getting jack shit else]]). The Core factions at games release will be the Empire, High Elves, Wood Elves, Bretonnia, Dwarfs, Chaos Warriors, Tomb Kings, Orcs and Goblins and the Beastmen, being split into "good" and "evil" factions (which upset some people even though this has been a thing Warhammer Fantasy did since 5th edition). This has been a [[Skub|controversial decision]] as it has pretty much cut the number of supported armies in half, and while factions like [[Lizardmen]] were not expected to get rules to begin with, the hope had been that the setting would start in the Old World and the move around and look at other factions via-supplements, which now seems very unlikely for a good few years, if ever. All of this has also thrown into question the status of [[Kislev]] and [[Cathay]], who were thought to be core factions due to updates on TOW actually going into detail about them, but the only word on them so far has been along the lines of "yeah, probably at some point." | |||
In addition to all that it was hammered home again that AoS models will get no rule support in Old World. Putting to bed any hopes that some of the newer AoS models could be used to fill in some gaps in legacy armies. Which honestly isn't surprising but still some had held out hope they might get maybe a PDF style addition. | |||
Some explanation was given to why certain factions are not getting the same treatment, as the [[Lizardmen]] and [[Dark Elves]] "live an ocean away", the [[Skaven]] are having a civil war and not doing anything to annoy the surface, the [[Von Carstein]]s are all dead, the [[Ogre Kingdoms]] and [[Chaos Dwarfs]] are on the other side of a mountain range and don't get about much and the Chaos Daemons are having a bit of trouble forming armies due to a low influx of magic from the polar gates. All of which are not great arguments when you remember that there are Lizardmen in the [[Southlands]], the Dark Elves are pirates and have raided the Old Worlds coasts before, their are other Vampires that are not Von Carsteins who would build armies and cause trouble, Chaos Daemons could be rolled into an army with Chaos Warriors, the Skaven are, well, the Skaven so they don't need a justification to be anywhere and if [[Cathay]] does get an army and models, then the Ogres and Chaos Dwarfs are literally sitting between the Empire and Cathay, so would take an active role in fighting armies and traders that are crossing the [[Dark Lands]] and [[Mountains of Mourn]]. | |||
And while it is good that many of the discontinued Elf and Dwarf kits will be returning (alongside presumably new kits), this announcement has created an feeling that The Old World might be a bit half-arsed, which it really can't afford to do, if it want's to win back the fantasy player base | |||
====A More Positive View==== | |||
[[file:1684869319076923.jpg|thumb|left|400px|/TG/'s guide to budgeting.]] | |||
The lack of focus on certain factions may make sense by GW as they either are already available through other ranges or because this specific narrative is going to be more focused on a set few factions to see if they sell well. Keep in mind that every army is going to take up shelf and storage space at [[Forgeworld]] and [[Games Workshop]], so redundant packaging and armies that have a lot of crossover with [[Age of Sigmar]] may end up being detrimental to the company. Instead, it's likely these factions may be added to the Old World as their ranges get updated and old models need to be sent elsewhere. These models are still available so if the Old World is financially as successful as the Horus Heresy or other specialist games could mean we see old factions have new rules as new campaigns and editions of the game release. The fact [[Kislev]] will have to show up due to the time period of the game should mean that other events like the Dark Elf's invasion of Ulthaun during this time period will likely also be supported, though they will need more time and funds to update the armies in question. | |||
If anything, old ranges still being supported with rules instead of being [[squatted|silently squatted]] should mean that they're not being forgotten about. Does it suck? Yes, but there is a silver lining here. | |||
==Reaction and the Fantasy player base== | ==Reaction and the Fantasy player base== | ||
Now you would think that the | Now you would think that the resurrection of [[Warhammer Fantasy]] would make all fantasy fans very excited and pleased, right? Well this is [[/tg/]], where [[Iron Warriors|bitterness and contempt]] is the natural state of most of the people who frequent the board, and the announcement of Fantasy's return has caused a bit of disgruntlement in part of [[/tg/]], mostly in the [[Wat|Warhammer Fantasy players]]. | ||
At first this may seem confusing, as Fantasy players seem to be the target audience of this announcement, but there are a few factors to consider: | |||
* A lot of Fantasy players have not forgiven [[GW]] for [[The End Times]], and still consider it to be the [[Book of Grudges|greatest wrong]] GW has ever committed on their player base and while some people say that they should just "get over it", spending hundreds of dollars on an army and hobby, getting invested in the universe and then having the company kill/butcher your army, their fluff and the universe and then saying "buy it again" would leave most people feeling angry and betrayed. It's a bit like your [[That Guy|asshole friend]] running over your childhood dog, telling you to deal with it, and then showing up 2 years later saying he will get you a replacement cat. That GW has clearly stated that End Times is still a part of the lore has only gotten people more pessimistic. | |||
* A lot of Fantasy players hold nothing but animosity for [[Age of Sigmar]] players. The two player bases do not get on at all, and this has been proven with the ill fated attempts to have a joint [[Warhammer Fantasy]] and [[Age of Sigmar]] general threads on /tg/, which would consist of both player bases telling each other and the OP to fuck off, and a new threads being made for each game. The few grogs who "get along" with AoS players, are the ones who were able to move on to AoS themselves, and were also the people most excited by the Old World announcement. There are also the people who are saying that Age of Sigmar was to thank for this, as it has done so well which [[Skub|rubbed a few people the wrong way]]. Though recently this hatred of the two fanbases has subsided, because like most things on the internet, people got bored and moved on, and simply went their separate ways, either accepting AoS or just ignoring it, with that said, of course there are some few people left still stroking the flames of hatred, with no purpose at all because people already moved on to either Total War: Warhammer/Vermintide games, made the conversion to AoS, went to play 40K instead, moved to other tabletop games, or just kept playing Fantasy like the End Times never happened. | |||
A surprisingly common fear is what armies will actually make it into the game, as GW describing it as "Horus Heresy for AoS" has led some people to believe that the game will only feature various flavours of Empire and a few other human factions in a similar vein to 30k, and the map reveal showing a bunch of Empire characters has put a few people on edge. However the fact that non human factions can be identified in the logo (Goblins, Daemons and Skaven), [[Settra the Imperishable|Settra]] being specifically mentioned in GW's meme marketing and that the very obvious and smart thing to do would be adding all the previous armies from Fantasy to the game means this is probably people jumping at shadows. But this is GW, and they very commonly miss the obvious and smart thing to do. And for plenty of Fantasy players who never stopped playing the game, all the Old World could offer is new models and with the price hikes and [[Primaris Space Marines|biased updates]] GW has been putting out lately, not all Fantasy players are particularly enthusiastic to having to pay $60 for a single box of [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dwarfs]]. And speaking of money, many WHFB players sold their armies thinking they wouldn't be able to play with them anymore, only for GW to resurrect the setting a couple of years later. That means re-buying and painting everything their armies from scratch, or buying them back with the price increase the announcement meant. | A surprisingly common fear is what armies will actually make it into the game, as GW describing it as "Horus Heresy for AoS" has led some people to believe that the game will only feature various flavours of Empire and a few other human factions in a similar vein to 30k, and the map reveal showing a bunch of Empire characters has put a few people on edge. However the fact that non human factions can be identified in the logo (Goblins, Daemons and Skaven), [[Settra the Imperishable|Settra]] being specifically mentioned in GW's meme marketing and that the very obvious and smart thing to do would be adding all the previous armies from Fantasy to the game means this is probably people jumping at shadows. But this is GW, and they very commonly miss the obvious and smart thing to do. And for plenty of Fantasy players who never stopped playing the game, all the Old World could offer is new models and with the price hikes and [[Primaris Space Marines|biased updates]] GW has been putting out lately, not all Fantasy players are particularly enthusiastic to having to pay $60 for a single box of [[Dwarfs (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dwarfs]]. And speaking of money, many WHFB players sold their armies thinking they wouldn't be able to play with them anymore, only for GW to resurrect the setting a couple of years later. That means re-buying and painting everything their armies from scratch, or buying them back with the price increase the announcement meant. Hell, they are the lucky ones: [[RAGE|there were people so mad about AoS that SOME EVEN BURNED THEIR ARMIES]]. | ||
Now with all this being said some of the less bitter Fantasy players are excited or at least curious about The Old World, and most of the people on the /wfg/ are interested to see new Fantasy models (if for nothing else conversion bits and unit filler). Only time will really tell how this will play out, and if the game is supported properly it will probably do very well and if it can offer up good quality models for the old Warhammer factions it may even tempt the most bitter of grog to at least get some more units for his army. At the very least there won't be the huge confusion from [[Total War: WARHAMMER]] fans looking for the game its based on anymore. | Now with all this being said some of the less bitter Fantasy players are excited or at least curious about The Old World, and most of the people on the /wfg/ are interested to see new Fantasy models (if for nothing else conversion bits and unit filler). Only time will really tell how this will play out, and if the game is supported properly it will probably do very well and if it can offer up good quality models for the old Warhammer factions it may even tempt the most bitter of grog to at least get some more units for his army. At the very least there won't be the huge confusion from [[Total War: WARHAMMER]] fans looking for the game its based on anymore. | ||
Truth be told the simplest explanation for this whole thing is that GeeDubs noticed they can juice out the most from new Cities of Sigmar and other classic factions models with a "prequel" game, with virtually every kit from The Old World being compatible with AoS, it actually makes a lot of sense, if things go well then they could finally update their whole line into [[Awesome|modern 3D designed multikit plastic set]] (and the old models still being valid to play and maybe even made to order), if things don't go that well for The Old World then at least we still got updated models for AoS recycled factions and it can remain as an alternate ruleset that grumbling neckbeards can play with. The End Times, however, won't be retconned, as Old World is placed during the Age of Three Emperors. | Truth be told the simplest explanation for this whole thing is that GeeDubs noticed they can juice out the most from new Cities of Sigmar and other classic factions models with a "prequel" game, with virtually every kit from The Old World being compatible with AoS, it actually makes a lot of sense, if things go well then they could finally update their whole line into [[Awesome|modern 3D designed multikit plastic set]] (and the old models still being valid to play and maybe even made to order), if things don't go that well for The Old World then at least we still got updated models for AoS recycled factions and it can remain as an alternate ruleset that grumbling neckbeards can play with. The End Times, however, won't be retconned (hopefully except some of the really stupid minor details and hand waved as confused wrong news delivered in the middle of the apocalypse), as Old World is placed during the Age of Three Emperors. | ||
==Gallery== | ==Gallery== | ||
Line 55: | Line 144: | ||
File:Perish not.jpg|GW made this too. Pandering, maybe. True, yes. | File:Perish not.jpg|GW made this too. Pandering, maybe. True, yes. | ||
File:Aos vs wfg.png|The Grogs never forget, and they never forgive. | File:Aos vs wfg.png|The Grogs never forget, and they never forgive. | ||
</gallery> | |||
==Concepts and announcements== | |||
<gallery> | |||
File:The Ice Guard.jpg|More [[White Scars|Mongolian]] than [[Valhallan Ice Warriors|Russian]]. | |||
File:Kislev Bear-Concept art - War Com - 11-05-20.jpg | |||
File:Gryphon Legion Concept Art.jpg|Concept art for the gryphon legion riders. Looking suitably Polish. | |||
File:TOW Tomb Kings Chariot.jpg|Can't keep a good Skeleton down | |||
File:TOW Bretonnian Knight.jpg | |||
File:TOW Bretonnian Archer.jpg | |||
File:TOW Orc Boar Boy.jpg | |||
File:Warhammer Community-TOW-Great Sword.jpg | |||
File:Warhammer Community-TOW-Archer & Free Company Militia.jpg | |||
File:Warhammer Community-TOW-Flagellant.jpg | |||
File:Bretonnia model renders 2-TOW.jpg | |||
File:Tomb Kings Model Renders-TOW.jpg | |||
File:Bretonnia Knight repaint-TOW.jpg|Like a Phoenix out of time, the Bretonnian model range rises again. | |||
File:Bretonnia Lance formation repaint-TOW.jpg | |||
File:Bretonnia Paladin-TOW.jpg | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
Latest revision as of 22:59, 23 June 2023
"Only after disaster can we be resurrected"
- – Tyler Durden - Fight Club
"Soon"
- – /tg/'s reclusive soon poster
Warhammer: The Old World is a tabletop wargame and spiritual successor to Warhammer Fantasy, that GW is in the current process of creating.
The game is confirmed to be a 28mm scale rank and file game, with things taken from almost every edition of Warhammer fantasy (3rd-8th, as 1st and 2nd are these RPG/wargame hybrids), essentially meaning the game is almost certainly going to be Warhammer Fantasy 9th edition with a fancy name. It's unknown what really brought around the decision to make the game, whether it was the general hatred and disdain that Age of Sigmar has never been able to shrug off, Total War: Warhammer and Vermintide doing so well, or GW realising there was an entire audience of wargamers that weren't being tapped or for some other reason known only to god, it looks like the sun will rise upon Warhammer Fantasy once again. The biggest hope for many a remaining Fantasy fans is that The Old World revives and updates factions squatted during the End Times and Age of Sigmar, like the Tomb Kings, Bretonnia and Dwarfs, with a few squatted factions being hinted or out right shown off as of writing.
While initially marketed as "The Horus Heresy for Age of Sigmar", it seems the more accurate statement would be "The Horus Heresy for Warhammer Fantasy", as the game is set during the Age of the Three Emperors which was the time period when a most of the events and conflicts that would shape almost every race in Warhammer Fantasy occurred, similar to what the Heresy did for the Imperium. This is coming at a time when the Horus Heresy series as a whole is beginning to wrap up with its final act in the Siege of Terra, which will begin to free up a significant portion of Black Library and GW staff to move on to the next big project.
New Models were also confirmed to be on the way.
The Setting[edit]
The game will be set during the closing decades of the Age of the Three Emperors (which everyone and their grandmother had figured out by the time they announced it but oh well), and going into the details of the world during this time and with Asavar Kuls invasion seemingly being the new "Clock strikes midnight" moment. The setting will show the Empire at it's lowest point with multiple generations of Elector counts having fought over who gets the Hammer, Bretonnia in the midst of some of the most brutal wars they have ever fought against the Orcs, the continuation of the Karaz Ankor's decline and Kislev at it's highest point, just before they are torn down. And because of the time period we can also hopefully expect to have more material on figures who before where merely background fluff or mentioned in passing like Louen Orc-Slayer, and we should see the rise of some of Warhammer biggest names like Thorgrims and Ungrims rise to prominence as Dwarf lords and Teclis globe trotting adventures. Oh and Cathay will be there, doing... "things" probably.
Basically everything will be falling apart, once strong empires are on the road to their downfall, political and religious strife is running as rampant as the local pests, the dead are getting restless and a looming Chaos invasion threatens to bring destruction and ruin to all things. The more things change...
With the game having a more defined setting it means we will be unlikely to see some of the old classic Warhammer Fantasy Character (like Karl Franz, Archaon, and Grimgor), though quite a few of the characters were alive and active during this time as most of the Dwarf, Elf, Lizardmen and undead characters were pootling around during this time, though the shorter lived races will all have new or historical goobers taking the place of some of their pre established characters. Though they could still get rules through a Legacies or Legends PDF (or TOW could be similar enough to 8th edition that the old WHFB army books would still be compatible with the game, so you can just use the character rules from that).
The Factions[edit]
- The Empire of Man
- Dwarfen Mountain Holds
- High Elf Realms
- Kingdom of Bretonnia
- Wood Elf Realms
- Beastmen Brayherds
- Orc & Goblin Tribes
- Tomb Kings of Khemri
- Warriors of Chaos
That said, everyone knows that there were far more than just these factions, but GW's excuse was merely focusing on the main forces involved in the Great War (in which case, is Kislev being booked as a subfaction for the Empire?) (at least for now in part 1 of the Great War, likely focused pre-war events like the rear end of the age of three emperors, Morghur's big resurrection party, Asavar Kul mustering forces and the war of sand and snow). As such, they promised free PDF army lists like Horus Heresy had done with the Imperialis Militia.
- Chaos Dwarfs - GW are cheapasses who won't make modern-day iterations of this neglected army. Count your blessings if the old FW stuff enters MtO.
- Daemons of Chaos - Which is odd since wouldn't they be better served as an allied faction for the WoC?
- Dark Elves - Presumably, since they weren't involved with the major struggle framing this setting as they were mostly busy with their own invasion of Ulthuan.
- Grand Cathay - Seemingly shelved until post-release or something. Sounds bad but remember that, unlike all the other factions who have old models that can be brought back, these guys need to be made from scratch.
- Lizardmen - Who are presumably too busy arguing over which Plaques are canon to bother with the Warmbloods
- Ogre Kingdoms - Greasus wasn't born yet at that point, which means they are even more isolated and primitive.
- Skaven - Still in hiding after Mandred Skavenslayer beat them back into the sewers.
- Vampire Counts - Currrently powerless after the end of Vampire Wars.
Updates and Reveals[edit]
The Road to the Old World actually releasing has/is/will be a long and painful one, with small tid-bits thrown out every few months when GW remembers it in between the Space Marine releases. During the time after it's announcement many theories of what The Old World would actually be were thrown about, ranging from a full re-release of Warhammer Fantasy to a new version of Warmaster all being thrown about. And while GW has addressed these ideas (after months of silence), many rumours and ideas where swirling around about what would actually happen for The Old World with each new update bring interest, and plenty of... "discussions."
Suddenly Kislev[edit]
Insert 'Then the Winged Hussars arrived' meme here.
In a move people hoped for but didn't really expect, GW announced that Kislev would be getting an army again, with updates to units like winged lancers and Ungol horse archers to be expected, as well as new units. One of these new units, or perhaps a hero choice, are the Ice Guard, presumably a wing of Kislev's Ice Witches.
This has been a slightly controversial announcement as the units' early concept art doesn't quite match the expectations of Warhammer Fantasy's generally-grounded art style (at least compared to other games). Plus the idea of magically-enchanted weapons being used by entire units (albeit for an elite guard) is a bit of a weird thing to see outside of the three Elven factions or grail knights, although the degenerate yhetees set somewhat of a precedent for magic ice-weapons in particular. Oh, and /pol/tards and tumblrite snowflakes started arguing because they were women (ignoring the fact every magic user in Kislev is one) but that was to be expected and doesn't factor in because neither of them are going to buy models anyway. Time will tell how this unit is properly received when the models actually come out.
The announcement also plays nicely into the idea that the Old World will be seeing the Age of Three Emperors and the Great War against Chaos as it's starting point, due to Kislevs involvement in fighting Chaos and the effect the period had on the countries history. Not to mention the technological stagnation of Kislev means that wherever in the timeline future parts of TOW take place in, Kislev will remain relevant if the Empire is involved.
With a second showcase of concept art revealing bear cavalry (with the direct implication that bears will also be character mount options), Kislev may in fact be one of the starter factions. While it's very early to be speculating about starter boxes, a starter set with Kislev fighting the Warriors of Chaos would be a really nice box to see.
Update 1: On the 3rd of February, 2021 Total War Warhammer 3 was announced with Kislev being one of the starting races. In it we see both the new Ice Guard and Bear Cav, and a post on the Warhammer community confirmed that Creative Assembly had been working with GW and using the concept art of both these units for the game. This had been theorised before the trailers release, but the confirmation now means that Total Warhammer 3 will act as a sort of marketing device for TOW, and that units we see in game will most likely be introduced to TOW as well. Cathay was also confirmed for the game meaning that it may also be introduced to ToW as an army as well, which would be a very interesting turn of events. Also the Ice Guard look a lot better than they did in the Concept art so yay, the models will likely look better as well.
Update 2: As of the 13th of May, a poor-resolution map of Kislev's borders in TOW has been unveiled. The capital's heraldry bears (hue) the name "Romanoff", which may refer either to Alexis Romanoff who was the Tzar of Kislev during the Great War against Chaos, or his predecessor, likely a grandfather or great grandfather with newer information available. In addition the Kislevite borders now stretch all the way across Zorn Uzkul to the edge of the "Nation of the Hobgobla-Khans", indicating that the older fluff of the Kislevite colonies are being reintroduced in some way. This is also impressive as it makes Kislev much larger than its previous record, when the Wheatlands were canon in older editions. The safe bet is that when the TOW storyline comes up to the Great War Against Chaos, the colonial oblasts will burn first.
Suddenly Bretonnia[edit]
In the final days of 2020 and after half a year of absolute silence on Old World, GW dropped a surprise blog filling in the world map with a freshly un-squatted Bretonnia. All 14 dukedoms are represented, albeit with new dukes and heraldry befitting the time period, which we can now safely say is somewhere in the 23rd century (Imperial Calendar) thanks to the notable inclusion of King Louen Orc-Slayer. The perfidious Greenskins and aloof Wood Elves get name-dropped, and the maritime High Elves have a string of new enclaves along the Bretonnian coastline (including one built on top of an old WFRP location), all pointing towards early inclusion of these non-human races.
Suddenly... Hobgoblins?[edit]
The July 2021 update was a harbinger of good news: 28mm square bases are in (meaning you can use your old WHFB armies!), AoS-style naming schemes are out ("Da boyz woz called Orcs in da Old World, so datz what dey’z called!"), the rules system will be based on the cream of the crop of WHFB's 3rd through 8th editions, and the timeline window stretches from the late Age of Three Emperors into the Great War Against Chaos. Kislev is once again talked about, but the focus this time seems to be on mentioning their enemies on the eastern steppes - hobgoblins, hobhounds, centaurs, and half-orcs - all races which were present in Oldhammer days but have long since been lost to time. The blog muses that some of these beasts are mere rumour, but on the other hand there's a suspicious air of similarity with the recent releases GW has been putting out.
Suddenly, the Border Princes[edit]
In a completely unexpected move, GW's October blog focuses entirely on the Border Princes region of the Old World. While still not an army in their own right (they were explicitly fluffed to be a Your Dudes sandbox region to begin with) the map has been updated with a number of significant principalities during TOW's chronological place in the timeline, including a crest bearing the familiar name of Harkon. Several relatively obscure landmarks and places have been added to the map as well, and the fact that some of the new faction crests are Tilean and Estalian suggests that the other two southern realms will get their own lore blog posts in time, if nothing else.
Not that suddenly, Cathay[edit]
February 2022 blog finally confirms a theory that was hypothesized by many - Cathay will become a fully playable faction in the Old World. There are still little info aside from what we already know, but at least GW provided us with a really detailed map of Northwestern Cathay, which, once again, shows some Hobgoblins, but also adds several obscure Chaos tribes to the north of Great Bastion, such as Kuj.
Eventually, Tomb Kings[edit]
After 8 months of nothing, the Warhammer Community site finally decided to throw people a bone and show off another map... and some new art for the rule books. This art shows off a Bretonnian Knight and peasant Archer, an Orc Boar boy and a Tomb Kings Chariot, suggesting that the Tomb Kings will be receiving an actual update and re-launch at some point. The art is also suitably gritty and is appears to have been inspired by some of Karl Kopinskis work which is a nice touch. The map shows off pretty much everything that has already been shown but has the addition of Orcs & Goblins tribes as well as some Dwarf iconographies, so it looks like they'll be getting rules and new models for the game at some point too.
- Update: On February 6th 2023, more information was released about the Tomb Kings. The game will, at least initially, focus on the Old World continent over the Southlands and Nehekhara (and probably Lustria Ulthuan and Naggaroth as well), though they did state that there will be a chance to go and further explore these locations later on. Because of this Eurocentrism, the main way the Tomb Kings are going to be seen will be their invasions into parts of the Old World to re-establish parts of their former empire, which will hopefully be an interesting examination of their character, especially in comparison to their more defensive "get of my lawn" attitude they took up later on in Warhammer Fantasy. A quick word was also had about the Tomb Kings playstyle and the balancing act of making Skeletons fun to play and play against. We did get another map, which showed nothing new, just the key Tomb King cities, and some more artwork showing off Skeleton Warriors and a Sepulchral Stalker.
And later, the Empire[edit]
In January 2023, GW showed off some Empire art and a couple of maps. More importantly, they've shed a bit of light on the situation the Empire is in. Now during this time, the Empire was an empire in name alone, and its shit was getting kicked in by just about everyone, especially itself due to the unremitting civil war that followed the death of Mandred Skavenslayer. By the time that The Old World is set, four major provinces of the Empire have all laid claims to the imperial throne:
- The Barony of Westerland, ruled by Baroness Elspeth Magritta VI. Its capital is Marienburg.
- The Osterland, ruled by Count Sigismund Ulric. Its capital is Middenheim.
- The Principality of Reikland, ruled by Prince Wilheim I. Its capital is Altdorf.
- The Grand Duchy of Talabec, ruled by Duke Ludwig XII. Its capital is Talabheim.
As an interesting note, the heraldry of Osterland, Reikland, and Talabec all correspond to three different deities (Ulric, Sigmar and Taal respectively). While this is not surprising since the capitals of these factions are located in some of the most religiously zealous parts of the Empire, it does suggest that over time the religious divisions in the Empire grew much wider during this time. And while these four are going at each others' throats, the Beastmen are fucking up the forests, the Orcs and Goblins are pillaging anything in reach, and the Tomb Kings are plotting to reclaim their old lands. And of course, there's Asavar Kul preparing to make his big push towards Kislev. We already know that the Empire will end up rallying around Magnus the Pious, but needless to say the path the Empire looks like it'll take to get there will be quite a bumpy one indeed. While they didn't say anything explicitly, it might be possible that the Empire's army book might be split between the claimants.
Finally Model Renders[edit]
During mid-March 2023, GW Finally, after literal years of ball tickling, revealed some incomplete model renders... The renders were both for Bretonnia and the Tomb Kings and showed off weapons for both armies as well as a few extras such as some Bretonnian Knight helmets. The over all response to the model renders was positive, with the models looking like pretty good updates to the old 6th ed models (from the snap shot's we've seen so far at least, we're still missing images most of the models at this point). One criticism, for the Bretonnian models at least is the look a bit chunky and a seem to lean a bit more into the bad TV historical drama design than the historical design, with their being a bit less of a direct reference to historical knight helmets than before. Hopefully the chunkiness of the models is just from the model renders.
- Update: It was later revealed that old models from Warhammer Fantasy would be going back into production, with the entire article showing off newly painted Bretonnian models (the old ones from 20 years ago), in a new era actuate scheme. The model kits shown off were the old knight of the realm (presented in a Lance formation), the Bretonnian peasants, the trebuchet and some hippogryphs. The reasons for this are probably down to a mix of most of the old models still looking good, people liking the old models and want to get them without buying from some Ebay scalper and GW being lazy. These old models are going to be re-released alongside new models so Bretonnia is getting less of a full redo, a more of an update that it would have gotten if Warhammer Fantasy had survived into a 9th edition. In addition to this the article also aludes to some special rules for specific armies for Bretonnia with an Exile Knight and a Crusade army being in the works.
Finally the article confirmed that TOW will be using a larger base size than Warhammer Fantasy with most base sizes being increased to some degree (e.g. 20x20mm bases being upped to 25x25mm). This was met to both cries of "Finally" and "For fuck sake". The base increase is due to the fact that a lot of models released since 7th have had difficulty ranking up with their current base sizes, and GW seems reluctant to make the models less "dynamic" or smaller. And while it may seem like everyone will have to rebase their models, it was also stated that having models on smaller bases should only be a problem for tournaments and the smaller based models from your old Fantasy army will be fine for playing at the FLGS (you can also put the models on bigger movement trays and avoid both problems at the same time).
Tomb Kings vs Bretonnia[edit]
During Warhammer Fest in April, new resin models for the Tomb King and Bretonnian Paladin were announced, confirming the two squatted factions from fantasy will be the first to return to the table top. Both factions will gain new models and returning ones, with both new plastic and resin models (which was not surprising since TOW is a Forge World game). The first major story will revolve around Bretonnia fighting back a Tomb King invasion, with subsequent updates revolving initially around the factions in and around The Old World, so expect the Empire, Chaos and Orcs & Goblins to be the first to receive army books and models. So if you play a faction not too involved in the Old World in this time like Lizardmen, High Elves, or Chaos Dwarfs, sorry but you'll have to be patient. Artwork was also shown off with most of if being inspired by the 6th-7th style art found in the Armybooks.
During the after stream Q&A some very important things have been discussed and explained.
- There won't be a starter set for TOW, however there may still be a boxed set with 2 armies (the difference being a starter set has a rule book and other stuff to get started in the age, and boxed sets are just two armies sold in one box), and there will most likely be Army/Battalion boxes so people can get started on new armies or as entry points for new players.
- The game will be a bit harder for new players to get into, but not impossible and the main target audience is Warhammer Fantasy players.
- The game will be compatible with 8th edition Warhammer Fantasy armies and armies that don't get army books straight away will get PDF's after the games launch.
- The updated base sizes will be announced before the game releases.
- Further to this, when asked what the best way to prepare for TOW was, the answer was "paint you models".
- Stuff like Chaos Dwarfs, Skaven and Lizardmen will have rules, but will not be getting new stuff until much later on.
- Kislev will not be getting models imminently, but will probably be getting them sooner rather than later, and Cathay will be a while after launch.
- Models will be Plastic (new and old), FW Resin and Metal (because not even GW can sell you the finecast versions with a straight face anymore).
- Stuff like AoS specific armies and models like Stormcast, Idoneth deepkin and the new Cities of Sigmar models are not made to be compatible with TOW, and are not getting any rules for TOW, and this will also work vice versa with Old World specific armies and models like Bretonnia, not being designed to be used in AoS.
- This is probably for the best as the 2 player groups still don't like each other and have not much except animosity for the other games models (despite some people trying to get them to hold hands singing "Kumbaya"), though converting TOW models for AoS will be much easier than converting AoS models for TOW.
Core Armies and Legacy Armies[edit]
In May 2023, this was further expanded on with some additional information that certain armies are considered core factions (read; getting army books and support) and non-core/legacy factions (read; getting PDF's and getting jack shit else). The Core factions at games release will be the Empire, High Elves, Wood Elves, Bretonnia, Dwarfs, Chaos Warriors, Tomb Kings, Orcs and Goblins and the Beastmen, being split into "good" and "evil" factions (which upset some people even though this has been a thing Warhammer Fantasy did since 5th edition). This has been a controversial decision as it has pretty much cut the number of supported armies in half, and while factions like Lizardmen were not expected to get rules to begin with, the hope had been that the setting would start in the Old World and the move around and look at other factions via-supplements, which now seems very unlikely for a good few years, if ever. All of this has also thrown into question the status of Kislev and Cathay, who were thought to be core factions due to updates on TOW actually going into detail about them, but the only word on them so far has been along the lines of "yeah, probably at some point."
In addition to all that it was hammered home again that AoS models will get no rule support in Old World. Putting to bed any hopes that some of the newer AoS models could be used to fill in some gaps in legacy armies. Which honestly isn't surprising but still some had held out hope they might get maybe a PDF style addition.
Some explanation was given to why certain factions are not getting the same treatment, as the Lizardmen and Dark Elves "live an ocean away", the Skaven are having a civil war and not doing anything to annoy the surface, the Von Carsteins are all dead, the Ogre Kingdoms and Chaos Dwarfs are on the other side of a mountain range and don't get about much and the Chaos Daemons are having a bit of trouble forming armies due to a low influx of magic from the polar gates. All of which are not great arguments when you remember that there are Lizardmen in the Southlands, the Dark Elves are pirates and have raided the Old Worlds coasts before, their are other Vampires that are not Von Carsteins who would build armies and cause trouble, Chaos Daemons could be rolled into an army with Chaos Warriors, the Skaven are, well, the Skaven so they don't need a justification to be anywhere and if Cathay does get an army and models, then the Ogres and Chaos Dwarfs are literally sitting between the Empire and Cathay, so would take an active role in fighting armies and traders that are crossing the Dark Lands and Mountains of Mourn.
And while it is good that many of the discontinued Elf and Dwarf kits will be returning (alongside presumably new kits), this announcement has created an feeling that The Old World might be a bit half-arsed, which it really can't afford to do, if it want's to win back the fantasy player base
A More Positive View[edit]
The lack of focus on certain factions may make sense by GW as they either are already available through other ranges or because this specific narrative is going to be more focused on a set few factions to see if they sell well. Keep in mind that every army is going to take up shelf and storage space at Forgeworld and Games Workshop, so redundant packaging and armies that have a lot of crossover with Age of Sigmar may end up being detrimental to the company. Instead, it's likely these factions may be added to the Old World as their ranges get updated and old models need to be sent elsewhere. These models are still available so if the Old World is financially as successful as the Horus Heresy or other specialist games could mean we see old factions have new rules as new campaigns and editions of the game release. The fact Kislev will have to show up due to the time period of the game should mean that other events like the Dark Elf's invasion of Ulthaun during this time period will likely also be supported, though they will need more time and funds to update the armies in question.
If anything, old ranges still being supported with rules instead of being silently squatted should mean that they're not being forgotten about. Does it suck? Yes, but there is a silver lining here.
Reaction and the Fantasy player base[edit]
Now you would think that the resurrection of Warhammer Fantasy would make all fantasy fans very excited and pleased, right? Well this is /tg/, where bitterness and contempt is the natural state of most of the people who frequent the board, and the announcement of Fantasy's return has caused a bit of disgruntlement in part of /tg/, mostly in the Warhammer Fantasy players.
At first this may seem confusing, as Fantasy players seem to be the target audience of this announcement, but there are a few factors to consider:
- A lot of Fantasy players have not forgiven GW for The End Times, and still consider it to be the greatest wrong GW has ever committed on their player base and while some people say that they should just "get over it", spending hundreds of dollars on an army and hobby, getting invested in the universe and then having the company kill/butcher your army, their fluff and the universe and then saying "buy it again" would leave most people feeling angry and betrayed. It's a bit like your asshole friend running over your childhood dog, telling you to deal with it, and then showing up 2 years later saying he will get you a replacement cat. That GW has clearly stated that End Times is still a part of the lore has only gotten people more pessimistic.
- A lot of Fantasy players hold nothing but animosity for Age of Sigmar players. The two player bases do not get on at all, and this has been proven with the ill fated attempts to have a joint Warhammer Fantasy and Age of Sigmar general threads on /tg/, which would consist of both player bases telling each other and the OP to fuck off, and a new threads being made for each game. The few grogs who "get along" with AoS players, are the ones who were able to move on to AoS themselves, and were also the people most excited by the Old World announcement. There are also the people who are saying that Age of Sigmar was to thank for this, as it has done so well which rubbed a few people the wrong way. Though recently this hatred of the two fanbases has subsided, because like most things on the internet, people got bored and moved on, and simply went their separate ways, either accepting AoS or just ignoring it, with that said, of course there are some few people left still stroking the flames of hatred, with no purpose at all because people already moved on to either Total War: Warhammer/Vermintide games, made the conversion to AoS, went to play 40K instead, moved to other tabletop games, or just kept playing Fantasy like the End Times never happened.
A surprisingly common fear is what armies will actually make it into the game, as GW describing it as "Horus Heresy for AoS" has led some people to believe that the game will only feature various flavours of Empire and a few other human factions in a similar vein to 30k, and the map reveal showing a bunch of Empire characters has put a few people on edge. However the fact that non human factions can be identified in the logo (Goblins, Daemons and Skaven), Settra being specifically mentioned in GW's meme marketing and that the very obvious and smart thing to do would be adding all the previous armies from Fantasy to the game means this is probably people jumping at shadows. But this is GW, and they very commonly miss the obvious and smart thing to do. And for plenty of Fantasy players who never stopped playing the game, all the Old World could offer is new models and with the price hikes and biased updates GW has been putting out lately, not all Fantasy players are particularly enthusiastic to having to pay $60 for a single box of Dwarfs. And speaking of money, many WHFB players sold their armies thinking they wouldn't be able to play with them anymore, only for GW to resurrect the setting a couple of years later. That means re-buying and painting everything their armies from scratch, or buying them back with the price increase the announcement meant. Hell, they are the lucky ones: there were people so mad about AoS that SOME EVEN BURNED THEIR ARMIES.
Now with all this being said some of the less bitter Fantasy players are excited or at least curious about The Old World, and most of the people on the /wfg/ are interested to see new Fantasy models (if for nothing else conversion bits and unit filler). Only time will really tell how this will play out, and if the game is supported properly it will probably do very well and if it can offer up good quality models for the old Warhammer factions it may even tempt the most bitter of grog to at least get some more units for his army. At the very least there won't be the huge confusion from Total War: WARHAMMER fans looking for the game its based on anymore.
Truth be told the simplest explanation for this whole thing is that GeeDubs noticed they can juice out the most from new Cities of Sigmar and other classic factions models with a "prequel" game, with virtually every kit from The Old World being compatible with AoS, it actually makes a lot of sense, if things go well then they could finally update their whole line into modern 3D designed multikit plastic set (and the old models still being valid to play and maybe even made to order), if things don't go that well for The Old World then at least we still got updated models for AoS recycled factions and it can remain as an alternate ruleset that grumbling neckbeards can play with. The End Times, however, won't be retconned (hopefully except some of the really stupid minor details and hand waved as confused wrong news delivered in the middle of the apocalypse), as Old World is placed during the Age of Three Emperors.
Gallery[edit]
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Because you can't keep a good undead down (GW made this, by the way).
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GW made this too. Pandering, maybe. True, yes.
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The Grogs never forget, and they never forgive.
Concepts and announcements[edit]
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Concept art for the gryphon legion riders. Looking suitably Polish.
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Can't keep a good Skeleton down
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Like a Phoenix out of time, the Bretonnian model range rises again.
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