ARCANE JOURNAL: Overkingdoms of Albion - Draft 1
Apr 17, 2024 16:07:49 GMT
grandmasterwang and baaderthegreat like this
Post by lordofskullpass on Apr 17, 2024 16:07:49 GMT
Greetings one and all on EEFL!
I bring great news - the first of my fan-made Arcane Journals for Warhammer: The Old World is now complete (at least its first draft anyway) - it is time to sound the Carnyxes and lead the forces of the Misty Isle to the World of Legend!
For those of you who don't already know, I've been long working to bring my own vision of the island of Albion and its inhabitants to reality in the games of first Warhammer Fantasy 8th Edition and now its rightful successor, Warhammer: The Old World. As a massive fan of Brythonic Celtic history I had long speculated about how this forgotten island could be reinvented to both bring my favourite historical civilisation to the world of Warhammer, and revitalise Albion to be a faction in its own right, a prominent player in the Warhammer world's destiny. Then, with the help of one admiral I discovered the magnificent Albion artwork pioneered by an extremely talented DeviantArtist, Matthew Klaas de Witte, which can be viewed on this thread here: eefl.freeforums.net/thread/1311/albion-concept-artwork-matthew-klaas
Armed with my own ideas of how a Brythonic Celtic army would work in a game of Warhammer and Matt's excellent concepts for characters and more fantastical elite units, I endeavoured to create an Albion army list for 8th Edition like no other (and, certainly in my personal opinion, far superior to the one compiled by Matthias Eliasson, which portrays Albion as a haphazard mishmash of Brythonic and particularly Gaelic cultures, with a big emphasis on the campiness seen in Gaelic myth-inspired works like Slaine and Highlander, which to this day fuel a lot of incorrect modern myths and generalisations about the Celts of the ancient past). To this day my 8th army list (which can be found here) has a small but devoted following, and for those of my loyal supporters who have made the big, bold step into Warhammer: The Old World, and even those who have only just encountered my Albion work for the first time, this is my next gift to you all.
knoffles chaosreigns grandmasterwang imrillion KevinC and especially hivefleetmanticore my Albionite brother in arms, this is for you!
Beyond the Old World and the 'civilised' lands of Bretonnia and the Empire lies the island of Albion, the birthplace of mankind. Those who travel there believe it is nothing more than an island of mists, bogs and ancient ruins, yet are oblivious to the fact that it is home to an advanced civilisation even older than the desert kingdoms of Nehekhara, who possess secrets taught to them by the Old Ones themselves. At this point in time, Albion is at its martial and political peak, under the overall rule of the High Kings and home to thriving tribal populations and the ancient and wise Circle of Truthsayers. Yet even in this time of prosperity, the people of the Misty Isle cannot afford to become complacent, for the cursed island of Hybrasille, Albion's wretched and lesser twin and home of the foul Fimir, has reappeared after centuries of absence. With its return come renewed waves of these vile monsters who surge forth from the seas, and even forgotten bogs and caves upon Albion itself, to despoil and reave. Worse yet, there is another, far greater darkness upon the horizon, that is set to sow the seeds of treachery and bring about the beginning of the end for this hidden, mystical land. Yet the people of the island are determined to change this fate. At the sonorous call of Carnyx warhorns, rank upon rank of brave, honourable warriors charge across the field, with nimble cavalry and deadly chariots sweeping along the flanks and mighty constructs infused with the power of the earth ploughing into the foe. The mystical wards of the Truthsayers and the divine predictions of the Oracles fuel the strength of their sword-wielding brethren, while the myriad shock troops of the island's tribes deal the hammer blow that crushes the enemy advance once and for all. While the colonies of humanity to the south languish in decadence, poverty and greed, the first of its nations battles endlessly to keep the world safe from the forces of Evil.
Here is the list, for everyone's perusal. I've had a play around with adding some additional units and alternative characters to this army list to reflect a difference in Albion's standing at the time of The Old World - for instance, that the High King Arturix (who appears as a deceased cameo in my 8th list) rules as ultimate head of state, a tribe called the Dragii exists under the command of a woman named Addfwyn (based off of one of Matt's newer characters he designed as a commission not part of his Albion lore, though I thought a non-Vampiric version of her would fit very well in TOW Albion) and several new units pop up not seen in the 8th list (because at the time of 8th, near the End Times, they have either gone extinct or are no longer used). As always, feel free to offer your thoughts on its level of balance (both internally and externally with the other factions of the World of Legend), have fun in devising army lists (and even full-on physical army projects) with it, and, most of all, playtest! The whole reason this list is a Draft 1 in the first place is because it is meant to be the starting point for playtesting by other members of the gaming public who don't have my innate author bias to be able to see how the list works, and give advice on how to properly balance it.
drive.google.com/file/d/1icekgs76ygap37m6vBz2a_pCXcSpgkMZ/view?usp=sharing
I bring great news - the first of my fan-made Arcane Journals for Warhammer: The Old World is now complete (at least its first draft anyway) - it is time to sound the Carnyxes and lead the forces of the Misty Isle to the World of Legend!
For those of you who don't already know, I've been long working to bring my own vision of the island of Albion and its inhabitants to reality in the games of first Warhammer Fantasy 8th Edition and now its rightful successor, Warhammer: The Old World. As a massive fan of Brythonic Celtic history I had long speculated about how this forgotten island could be reinvented to both bring my favourite historical civilisation to the world of Warhammer, and revitalise Albion to be a faction in its own right, a prominent player in the Warhammer world's destiny. Then, with the help of one admiral I discovered the magnificent Albion artwork pioneered by an extremely talented DeviantArtist, Matthew Klaas de Witte, which can be viewed on this thread here: eefl.freeforums.net/thread/1311/albion-concept-artwork-matthew-klaas
Armed with my own ideas of how a Brythonic Celtic army would work in a game of Warhammer and Matt's excellent concepts for characters and more fantastical elite units, I endeavoured to create an Albion army list for 8th Edition like no other (and, certainly in my personal opinion, far superior to the one compiled by Matthias Eliasson, which portrays Albion as a haphazard mishmash of Brythonic and particularly Gaelic cultures, with a big emphasis on the campiness seen in Gaelic myth-inspired works like Slaine and Highlander, which to this day fuel a lot of incorrect modern myths and generalisations about the Celts of the ancient past). To this day my 8th army list (which can be found here) has a small but devoted following, and for those of my loyal supporters who have made the big, bold step into Warhammer: The Old World, and even those who have only just encountered my Albion work for the first time, this is my next gift to you all.
knoffles chaosreigns grandmasterwang imrillion KevinC and especially hivefleetmanticore my Albionite brother in arms, this is for you!
Beyond the Old World and the 'civilised' lands of Bretonnia and the Empire lies the island of Albion, the birthplace of mankind. Those who travel there believe it is nothing more than an island of mists, bogs and ancient ruins, yet are oblivious to the fact that it is home to an advanced civilisation even older than the desert kingdoms of Nehekhara, who possess secrets taught to them by the Old Ones themselves. At this point in time, Albion is at its martial and political peak, under the overall rule of the High Kings and home to thriving tribal populations and the ancient and wise Circle of Truthsayers. Yet even in this time of prosperity, the people of the Misty Isle cannot afford to become complacent, for the cursed island of Hybrasille, Albion's wretched and lesser twin and home of the foul Fimir, has reappeared after centuries of absence. With its return come renewed waves of these vile monsters who surge forth from the seas, and even forgotten bogs and caves upon Albion itself, to despoil and reave. Worse yet, there is another, far greater darkness upon the horizon, that is set to sow the seeds of treachery and bring about the beginning of the end for this hidden, mystical land. Yet the people of the island are determined to change this fate. At the sonorous call of Carnyx warhorns, rank upon rank of brave, honourable warriors charge across the field, with nimble cavalry and deadly chariots sweeping along the flanks and mighty constructs infused with the power of the earth ploughing into the foe. The mystical wards of the Truthsayers and the divine predictions of the Oracles fuel the strength of their sword-wielding brethren, while the myriad shock troops of the island's tribes deal the hammer blow that crushes the enemy advance once and for all. While the colonies of humanity to the south languish in decadence, poverty and greed, the first of its nations battles endlessly to keep the world safe from the forces of Evil.
Here is the list, for everyone's perusal. I've had a play around with adding some additional units and alternative characters to this army list to reflect a difference in Albion's standing at the time of The Old World - for instance, that the High King Arturix (who appears as a deceased cameo in my 8th list) rules as ultimate head of state, a tribe called the Dragii exists under the command of a woman named Addfwyn (based off of one of Matt's newer characters he designed as a commission not part of his Albion lore, though I thought a non-Vampiric version of her would fit very well in TOW Albion) and several new units pop up not seen in the 8th list (because at the time of 8th, near the End Times, they have either gone extinct or are no longer used). As always, feel free to offer your thoughts on its level of balance (both internally and externally with the other factions of the World of Legend), have fun in devising army lists (and even full-on physical army projects) with it, and, most of all, playtest! The whole reason this list is a Draft 1 in the first place is because it is meant to be the starting point for playtesting by other members of the gaming public who don't have my innate author bias to be able to see how the list works, and give advice on how to properly balance it.
drive.google.com/file/d/1icekgs76ygap37m6vBz2a_pCXcSpgkMZ/view?usp=sharing
. I certainly wanted to try and give the option of squeezing in as many Giants as possible into an Albion army should one wish, as Albion has been known for its Giants ever since GW first did any work on it, but without going the whole hog of allowing an army to feature nothing but Giants (which I thought would be a step too far and introduce game-breaking Imperial Knights/Sons of Behemat shenanigans into the game, which I don't want to see at all). I hope this more measured approach will fit the bill.
