The Forlorn Hope
After his defeat at the Blackpit Realmgate, Arkhan the Black moves his efforts to the Gates of Paradox in outer Haixiah and prepares his ritual of corruption once more. Situated within the Desert of Ending, the land around this portal is so rife with raw magic it is inhospitable to any mortal. However, there is one among the Lumineth who is indeed no mere mortal. Eltharion, an aelven spirit made of light manifest, sets out to defeat Arkhan upon the Realm’s Edge.
Narrative Campaign
This is a narrative campaign for 2 players. One takes the role of the Lumineth and commands Eltharion and his aelven companions. The other is the Ossiarch player and commands Arkhan the Black, the foremost of Nagash’s Mortarchs. The Ossiarch player’s goal is to enact a foul ritual to corrupt the Gates of Paradox, a Realmgate that bridges the Realm of Light with that of Death. The campaign lasts for 3 battles, as Eltharion’s retinue races to the Realm’s Edge to confront their nemesis. This narrative campaign explores the events that happen in the Age of Sigmar supplement Broken Realms: Teclis and makes for a perfect evening of gaming.
Getting Ready
Eltharion travels to the Realm’s Edge alongside a band of his most faithful warriors. For these Lumineth it will be their final duty, for to cross the Perimeter Inimical is to seal one’s fate to never return. The Lumineth player musters a warband under the following guidelines:
- The warband consists of fighters with the Lumineth Realm-lords runemark ().
- 1,000 points’ worth of fighters can be added to the warband.
- It must include a Hurakan Windmage as a hero named Yara Qu Wai.
- It cannot include any allies.
In addition, the warband includes the Light of Eltharion as its leader. The Light of Eltharion does not cost any points and has his own fighter card and ability as shown below.
The Light Of Eltharion
| The Light Of Eltharion Ability |
|---|
| [Double] Searing Darts of Light: Pick a visible enemy fighter within 9" of this fighter and roll a number of dice equal to half the value of this ability (rounding up). For each 4+, allocate 3 damage points to that fighter. |
Although it will spell their doom, Arkhan the Black does not doubt that some of the Lumineth are foolish enough to venture to the Realm’s Edge. For this reason he orders some of his warriors to scout out and impede their advance. The Ossiarch player does not muster a warband to begin with. Instead they are free to pick a different warband for each battle fought in the campaign, as explained below.
Fighting Campaign Battles
Once the above steps are completed, the campaign is ready to begin. Fight the first two campaign battle as follows:
The Ossiarch player musters a warband of 1,000 points that consists of fighters with the Ossiarch Bonereapers runemark (). It cannot include any allies.
Battle groups are assigned as normal.
A player rolls on the victory table and the twist table to determine which are in play. Re-roll any cards that have already been used during the campaign.
D6 Twist Card D6 Victory Card 1 Eerie Silence 1 Isolated (the Lumineth player is the defender) 2 Howling Winds 2 Cut Off the Head 3 No Holding Back 3 Shock and Awe 4 Azyrite Lightning Storm 4 Dominate 5 Foreboding Location 5 Vanquish 6 Rainstorm of Ghyran 6 The Gauntlet (the Lumineth player is the defender) The Ossiarch player sets up the terrain for each battle: the Prismatic Palisade endless spell can make a great addition to set the scene.
3 deployment cards are drawn. Each player discards 1 of them, starting with the Lumineth player – the remaining card is used. The Lumineth player chooses who is red and blue, and orientates the deployment card.
Any instructions on the victory card and twist card are carried out.
The battle begins.
The Nightmare Predator
During battles in this campaign, if the Ossiarch warband includes any Mortisan Boneshapers, Mortisan Soulreapers or Mortisan Soulmasons, those fighters can use the ‘Nightmare Predator’ ability to summon a fearsome Nightmare Predator onto the battlefield. To use this ability, players will need access to the Nightmare Predator endless spell model.
| Nightmare Predator |
|---|
| [Triple] Summon Nightmare Predator: This ability can be used once per battle. The Nightmare Predator model is set up on the battlefield floor within a number of inches equal to double the value of this ability of the fighter that used this ability. The Nightmare Predator is not a fighter. For the rest of the battle, when the fighter that used this ability activates, they can forfeit one of their actions to instead move the Nightmare Predator (including the turn this ability was used). Each time the Nightmare Predator moves, it can move up to 10" in the same manner as a fighter that can fly. It can pass through terrain features and other fighters but cannot end its move in either. After the Nightmare Predator moves, allocate 2D6 damage points to each fighter it moved through (roll for each). If the fighter that used this ability is taken down, the Nightmare Predator is removed from the battlefield. |
The Aftermath Sequence
As battles are fought in this campaign, Eltharion and his companions get closer and closer to the Gates of Paradox, crossing first into the Desert of Ending and then reaching the Perimeter Inimical. After each battle, the winner decides the path the Lumineth take. They can either err to the east, or err to the west.
Each of these choices has both a setback and a reward associated with it. After the path has been determined, the Lumineth player rolls a dice. If the Lumineth player won the battle, add 1 to the roll (to a maximum of 6), and if the Ossiarch player won the battle, subtract 1 from the roll (to a minimum of 1). On a 1-3, they suffer a setback, while on a 4-6, they earn a reward. Look up the corresponding setback or reward below.
Then, the following steps are resolved:
- The Lumineth player makes injury rolls and destiny rolls as normal.
- Both players make 1 search roll on the lesser artefacts table – if the Ossiarch player receives an artefact, they do not need to give it to a fighter until they muster their warband for the next battle.
- No other steps are taken, including adding and removing fighters from Lumineth warband. If a fighter in the Lumineth warband is slain they must continue without them – there is no time to muster reinforcements!
The Final Battle
The third battle of the campaign uses the ‘The Gates of Paradox’ battleplan. The outcome of this battle will determine who is declared the overall winner of the campaign.
Continuing the Narrative
This campaign tells but a small part of the wider war between the Ossiarch Bonereapers and the Lumineth Realm-lords in Hysh. In Broken Realms: Teclis there are 2 battleplans for Age of Sigmar that delve further. The first, ‘A Fate Postponed’, recreates the events that lead up to this campaign: Arkhan the Black battles the Lumineth Realm-lords at the Blackpit Realmgate. The second, ‘A Clash of Gods’, follows on from this campaign, with Nagash himself leading an invasion into Hysh.
Journey to the Realm’s Edge
The Desert Of Ending
After our voyage across the Luminaris Sea we landed upon the shores of Haixiah and made haste towards the Gates of Paradox. As we made our way into the Desert of Ending we discovered Arkhan had anticipated our approach and dispatched his legions to foil us.
| Err to the West | Err to the East |
|---|---|
| [Setback]: On the outskirts of the Desert of Ending we spied an Ossiarch legion moving further into civilised lands. One of our warriors was dispatched to bring word – we pray he arrives first… The Lumineth player picks 1 fighter on their warband roster. That fighter is removed from the warband roster. | [Setback]: A dreaded band of Kavalos Deathriders pursued us with relentless haste. We eventually drive them off but at the cost of depleting our reserves of arrows. Roll a dice for each fighter with a weapon with the Ranged Weapon runemark (). On a 1, the fighter being rolled for cannot use that weapon for the rest of the campaign. |
| [Reward]: To the west we found an ancient shrine and a Phoenix Stone laid hidden within. The Lumineth player picks 1 fighter in their warband that does not have the Hero runemark () to bear the following artefact of power: Phoenix Stone: This ancient crystal can heal those on the brink of death. Once per battle, the bearer can use this artefact as a bonus action. If they do so, remove up to 2D6 damage points allocated to the bearer. | [Reward]: Even the outer limits of Hysh we call our home, and we use that knowledge of the land to turn the odds in our favour. For the next campaign battle, the Lumineth player can pick the victory card from the table. |
The Perimeter Inimical
As we neared the Perimeter Inimical, Arkhan’s agents on our heels, we and the land before us both began to unravel. Eltharion’s stride was unfaltering and filled the hearts of his warriors with the courage to go on.
| Err to the West | Err to the East |
|---|---|
| [Setback]: At first the shafts of light that rain myriad from above were thought to be harmless, until those who spent too long in their splendour were turned to crystal. The Lumineth player rolls a dice for each fighter on their warband roster that does not have the Hero runemark (). On a 1, the fighter being rolled for is turned to crystal and removed from the warband roster. | [Setback]: The symmetrical dunes of the far desert prove difficult to navigate – while at last we spy the Gates of Paradox before us, some of our warriors lag behind. In the final battle, after battle groups have been decided, the Ossiarch player can choose for either Lumineth’s Shield or Lumineth’s Hammer to start in reserve and arrive in battle round 2. |
| [Reward]: Within the dazzling cosmos of the Hyshian night sky, Celennar’s visage is revealed to us, galvanising our sense of purpose for the battle to come. Every fighter in the Lumineth warband gains 1 | [Reward]: With purpose and haste, we outmanoeuvre the Ossiarch on our tail and strike at the Gates of Paradox. In the final battle, after battle groups have been decided, the Lumineth player can choose for either the Ossiarch’s Dagger or the Ossiarch’s Hammer to arrive in battle round 3 instead of 2. |
Battleplan: The Gates Of Paradox
The journey across the Desert of Ending has been fraught with peril, and not all of the Lumineth warriors that set out with Eltharion have made it this far. And yet, their greatest challenge is now to come. The Mortarch of Death, Arkhan the Black, has seized the Gates of Paradox and works a fell ritual to taint and corrupt them forever. For the Lumineth it is a race against time, for they must defeat Nagash’s servant before the potent magics of the Realm’s Edge turns their flesh to crystal or evaporates them upon the sands.
The Null Myriad Warband
The Ossiarch player musters a warband of 800 points following the guidelines in the ‘Fighting Campaign Battles’ section above. The Ossiarch player’s warband also includes Arkhan the Black as its leader. This fighter does not cost any points and has its own fighter card and ability as shown below. Arkhan the Black must be placed in the Shield battle group. Arkhan the Black is a monster, and uses the monster rules.
Arkhan the Black
| Arkhan the Black Ability |
|---|
| [Quad] Curse of Years: Pick a visible enemy fighter within 9" of this fighter and roll a number of dice equal to double the value of this ability. For each roll that equals or exceeds the Toughness characteristic of that fighter, allocate 3 damage points to that fighter. The Light of Eltharion cannot be targeted by this ability. |
Terrain
The Ossiarch player sets up the terrain: we recommend a Realmgate terrain feature to represent the Gates of Paradox. The Lumineth player orientates the deployment map.
Deployment
See map. The Lumineth player is blue.
Victory
A player wins the battle as soon as their opponent’s leader is taken down.
At the end of each battle round, the players total the number of enemy fighters that were taken down in that battle round. If one player has a higher score they receive 1 wild dice.
Twist
The potent magics of the Perimeter Inimical threaten to turn the Lumineth into shards of crystal or annihilate them completely. At the end of each battle round, the Lumineth player rolls a dice for each of their fighters except the Light of Eltharion. On a 1, another dice is rolled for that fighter and if that score exceeds their Toughness characteristic, that fighter is immediately turned into crystal and removed from the battlefield.