Welcome to a Tale of Narrative Gamers where three men old enough to know better delve into a custom Age of Sigmar campaign, building their armies as they go.

We are using a tweaked mix of Skirmish, Narrative Play and Path to Glory rules in order to build our forces and play out their confrontations on the tabletop. Each battle follows an overarching narrative, and armies are built, converted and painted according to how events transpire.

The Premise

We are transported to the forgotten jungles of Crysabloom, deep within the Realm of Life where a mercenary band of humans have arrived at the behest of a merchant lord. Somewhere in the thick flora there lies a cache of a certain precious material, something to bring not just riches but great magical power to the merchant. But the jungle is thick and it is old. The man who brought these rumours to the merchant, the sole survivor of 18th Crysafalls Halberdiers who once sought the cache, raved of clawed horrors tearing his comrades apart. Those who weren’t killed by the jungle itself.

The Mechanics

The idea is to start small and grow steadily, partially to give a sense of progression and also to allow busy gamers with full-time jobs to achieve their pledges. Between now and September, each player builds and paints one unit a month. Towards the end of the month, the next battle ensues. These will have their own individual battle plans with objectives for each player to represent their motivations and interests in the region while pushing the story along that little bit further.

As it is a narrative campaign, there will undoubtedly be some deviation from standard rules to suit the narrative. The Path to Glory growth system provides a guideline but we shall choose which units we grow with based on the story. We’re not going to worry too much about points but may use them as a very loose guide to ensure one of the players doesn’t get too carried away…

Expect to see narrative background for the armies as they grow, along with advice on how the painting and basing effects are achieved, and it would not be complete without a battle report for each clash of armies.

The Players and Factions

Our mercenary leader is Stevo, whose commander, Lucius Grudgebringer (points for spotting the reference), intends to cut a swathe of destruction through the jungle with a host of men at his back. For the first month’s pledge, Stevo will be building a Freeguild General and unit of Freeguild Guard.

From the shadows, the Skaven leader, Gareth (@gcp129) emerges to stab-stab anyone who encroaches upon his interests in the region. He hasn’t disclosed what those interests are, or the extent of his forces, but for the right amount of warpstone you might get a better answer. Or you may simply lose your warpstone.

Finally, the Sylvaneth are roused to war by Dan (@TolSenti). His furious Branchwych, Ashtiriel, has issued a call for dryads to awaken and help her thwart the invaders.

Riches, glory or survival await. Stay tuned for regular updates to watch the campaign as it progresses. If you’re following along and building your own army with us, remember to leave us a comment and let us know how you’re getting on.