Yes, its another worldwide online narrative campaign, folks!
This one is brought to you by the Dice Sagas team, home of the best narrative battle reports, and it’s just kicked off! You can join right now!
Just like previous narrative campaigns from the team, this one takes place in the Interstice, a pocket realm lost in the Aetheric Void, a place that took shape from the accumulated detritus of destroyed and misconnecting realmgates, over many millennia. A continent coalesced in the void, saturated with magic. Many lost travellers have ended up stranded here for a time, but canny arcanists and artificers have since then secured ways out and back into the Interstice. But new arrivals are always landing somewhere…
Players have been able to settle their armies and warbands, and create kingdoms in the Interstice in collaboration with the Dice Sagas team.
Backdrop: This new campaign, ‘A Bloody Cicatrix’, kicks off with the advance of the Stormcast Eternals of Harmonia, led by Lord Celestant Kade Stormfury, against the tithe-cities of the volcanic Pyrelands, each under the iron heel of Khornate Lord Aichmos and his Bloodtithe. In an attempt to curb the power of the khornate lord, Lord-Celestant Stormfury has begun a military campaign to besiege Scarra, the city of the flayed, and liberate it from the ever scornful gaze of Khorne.
Amidst the geothermic geysers, volcanoes, and ever burning chasms, these two forces are gathering allies and mercenaries to their cause, with the fate of the Tithe-cities at stake. Will they be freed from the yoke of Chaos, or will they rise as the uncontested champions of Chaos in the Pyrelands?
We chatted with the lead NEOs for the event, Matt Chan and Christian Bibby, about what players can expect from it.
Q: Please summarize the campaign for us, and what players can expect.
A: Last time, we had a lengthy campaign about two forces (both made by people in our community!), and we saw how the story played out over a period of time. It was very free-form with no set plan, as we kind of thought we’d just let players decide how the story should proceed. However, from some of the feedback we got, people grew a bit listless with it and we felt a more guided and structured approach would be appreciated.
This campaign we’ll be featuring a shorter campaign (3 turns) centered around the preparation for a siege, the actual siege itself, and then the fallout from that result. We’re hoping this keeps the story a bit tighter, people more engaged, and the stakes more clear.
We’ll be staying fairly liberal in participation, as you can do any sort of hobbying and still contribute to the campaign: obvious preference would be for AoS, Warcry, Fantasy etc content. We accept everyone under the hobbying rainbow!
Kade Stormfury:
“The worshippers of the blood god feed upon the flesh and blood of thousands, supplied by these hellish tithe cities! Their ranks grow by the day and spill forth like a crimson tide of death to plague the surrounding lands, reaving and destroying all that do not serve their dark god. We shall strike out against the tyrant Aichmos and weaken his hold upon this realm so as to liberate everyone from Khorne’s damning influence!”
Q: What Narrative innovations and special rules will you be deploying in this campaign?
A: Compared to before, we’re keeping a better schedule; it got a bit muddled up last time which people didn’t really like. We’ll be having 2 week turns with 1 week narrative writing/producing before the next turn starts.
We’re still hoping to keep it very loose in terms of what people can do or push towards; we’re loving some of the ideas people have put forth on how they want their armies/characters want to tackle some of the quests and tasks. It’ll be fun writing people’s ideas together and creating a cohesive story.
In terms of innovation, I want to have a bit of persistence in the campaign for anyone that continues to play on. Players may find that their characters gain relationships, acquire artefacts or other assets that they can use later in this campaign, or maybe hang on to for the next! Keep an eye out for opportunities if this interests you but be warned there could be risks and consequences; nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Lord Aichmos:
“The Stormcast come once again to meddle in affairs they know not of! These puppets of the craven god-king dare to attack us upon our own bloodsoil and thus prove themselves more foolish than they appear! The blood god will rain blessings upon us as we defend our lands from these oppressors and all will know that our fervour and faith are unrelenting! Blood for the blood god! Skulls for the skull throne!”
Q: How much can players affect the campaign world through their submissions? Please give us a few examples.
A: Last time around, we had a third alliance form out of the original two; this was a collaborative decision between two of the players after talking with us. It wasn’t scripted or planned until that point and it dramatically changed the power balance as well as the overall direction of the story!
This time, we’ll have points where players can pick up assets for using during the campaign or even carry over into the next. Maybe build up relationships with other factions/characters which could affect future storylines; who knows?
Q: What would you like to say to players out there, to motivate them to join this campaign, and stick around the Dice Sagas hobby and gaming community?
A: We’re trying to take the concept of ‘your army, your dudes’ a bit further by encouraging the development of story, characters, lore and relationships. We want people to give more colour and life into the realm we play on as well as to give the opportunity to flesh out their own army story! By collaborating together we’ll enrich both our narrative and the players’ lore and personal connection to their army.
We’re also just a small community of people who really enjoy the hobby from various aspects and perspectives; you should join us!
[Click here to join the Dice Sagas Discord Server or Facebook Group]
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Thank you, Christian and Matt!
We will be following the campaign online, so please share lots of pictures and videos on social media!
You can find the Campaign page here for more details.
And let the Dice tell the story!
What do you think about this campaign?
Do you have any questions for the NEO, and how they put together an organized online campaign?
Leave your comments below!
Narrative Event Organizer Network 